UNRWA health services continue uninterrupted throughout 2018, yet health of Palestine refugees remains at risk

The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) released its annual Health Report for 2018, which confirms that, despite facing unprecedented financial challenges in 2018 that endangered the provision of the Agency’s services to 5.4 million registered Palestine refugees, the provision of primary health care and the facilitation of hospital services across the five fields of operation in Gaza, Jordan, Lebanon, Syria and the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, continued uninterrupted.

UNRWA attributes this achievement to the remarkable commitment of health workers and the ongoing Health Reform Programme, as well as the generous contributions from host and donor governments, and in particular, its close partnership with the World Health Organization (WHO). However, these achievements and the continued health and well-being of the Palestine refugee community remain imperiled due to the Agency’s continuing financial crisis.

For nearly 70 years, UNRWA has been offering comprehensive primary health care services to registered Palestine refugees, focusing on the protection, promotion and preservation of their health through all stages of life through the ‘life-cycle’ approach. In 2018, the Agency served nearly 23,000 patients every day throughout its network of 144 health centres (HCs) in the five fields of operation.

All the data for 2018 remained static or improved compared to previous years, thus, continuing to provide quality universal health care, the goal of the Agenda 2030 and the Sustainable Development Goal of health and well-being. UNRWA continued to maintain.

“During 2018, the HP faced a series of challenges. Above all was the unprecedented financial crisis that threatened our core primary health care services due to the shortage in funding. Moreover, the medical emergency in Gaza resulting from the so-called ‘Great March of Return’ demonstrations put increased pressure on the already overburdened health system; more than 4,000 injured people, most with gunshot wounds, visited our health centres,” remarked Dr. Akihiro Seita, UNRWA Director of Health. “Ongoing conflicts in Syria affected safe access to our health services in some areas. Procuring essential medicines with high quality was also a challenge. The overall situation was dire, but we never succumbed to the pressure.”

The Agency’s dire financial situation continues to imperil decades of investment into the basic health infrastructure and health care services offered to all Palestine refugees via UNRWA and all the achievements in the health sector risk to be unraveled with a devastating impact on the health of the Palestine refugee community.

Read and download the UNRWA Health Programme’s Annual Report 2018 

Original source: UNRWA
Published on 21 May 2019