Lack of training of healthcare professionals and access to online medical materials

The quality of health care professionals in Gaza has been hampered as they are often not permitted to travel abroad to conventions and training sessions where they can advance their skills and knowledge. Additionally access to online medical materials and web-based training is severely restricted due to high cost of subscriptions to medical journals and sites like UptoDate and poor internet services. Palestinians are still stuck on outdated 2G technology. Published by the United Nations, the ICT Development Index ranks countries based on various information and communication technology indicators. For the 2016 year, Palestine (the West Bank and Gaza) ranked 123 out of 176. Israel, on the other hand, is up at the top at number 23.

Most of the time, healthcare workers receive their salaries cut by 50% every two months instead of monthly. Such restrictions contribute to the low morale among healthcare providers

Poor and inconsistent financial compensation to healthcare providers

Many healthcare workers in Gaza, including doctors, nurses and technicians, work as volunteers without any compensation for their work. New graduates from medical and nursing schools suffer the most.

For those who receive salaries, their salaries are not paid consistently. Most of the time, healthcare workers receive their salaries cut by 50% every two months instead of monthly. Salaries are controlled by the Palestinian Authorities in the West Bank. Such restrictions contribute to the low morale among healthcare providers.