Healthcare Overview and Benchmarks
Currently, the Palestinian territories have approximately sixty hospitals and medical centers within the region. Gaza Strip has 13 hospitals and 51 medical centers.
The Palestinians lack a fundamental and substantive primary care system that can reach out to the local population. Infrastructural challenges restrict the movement of physicians and medical supplies, and lack of efficient logistics prevents a coordinated effort by all healthcare service providers to provide the necessary primary care.
Because all medicines must be sourced through Israel, the PA is unable to take advantage of lower prices often available in Arab countries.
While an immunization policy for Palestinian infants has recently been implemented, a policy for young adults and adults does not exist.
According to the World Bank, only 44 percent of all Palestinians have access to “reasonable and customary” healthcare. This leaves a startling 56 percent of the population with access to little or no healthcare whatsoever.
While there is a socialized healthcare system within the Palestinian Territories that provides universal and compulsory enrollment for all citizens, the healthcare provider in this universal plan is far below the normal standard of care according to healthy individuals.
These inadequate healthcare provisions, along with improper preventative care and lifestyle choices, contribute to the four primary causes of death within the region, which include cardiovascular disease, cancer, cerebrovascular disease, and diabetes.
0
%
of Palestinians have limited or no access to healthcare