MOH – Gaza: The worsening crisis of shortage of chemotherapy drugs for oncology patients
The Palestinian Ministry of Health in Gaza warned during a press conference held at the Turkish Friendship Hospital( Gaza Cancer Center), of the worsening suffering of oncology patients in the Gaza Strip, due to the acute shortage of treatments and the increase in patients rate.
The official spokesman of the Ministry of Health said that the suffering of 9,000 cancer patients is still ongoing.
Cancer is considered one of the most important causes of morbidity and mortality in the world, and in the Gaza Strip, where the percentage of cancer deaths amounted to 12.5% of the total mortality in 2021.
The cancer incidence rate in the Gaza Strip has increased over the past six years from 89 patients per 100 thousand to 91.3 patients per 100 thousand in 2021.
Last year, 9,000 cancer patients visited the Gaza Cancer Center to receive services, and the expected number of new cases registered during 2022 will reach 2,000 new cases.
The total number of internal and external medical referrals during 2021 in the Gaza Strip was 6,889 referrals for oncology patients to be treated by non-affiliated service providers of the Ministry of Health.
As the shortage of treatments worsened, patients were referred for chemotherapy, Radiotherapy and nuclear medicine treatment outside the Gaza Strip.
Cancer patients in Gaza can not perform essential tests for diagnosing tumours, such as genetic and biological tests and cellular acceleration.
The continuation of the Israeli blockade imposed on the Gaza Strip for the sixteenth consecutive year causes social, economic and psychological suffering, especially for these patients, who are harassed by the occupation, whether by issuing transit permits through the Beit Hanoun checkpoint or being subjected to detention for hours, interrogation or arrest and in some cases, the Israeli occupation refuses to let them go to their designated hospitals and not allow their companions to leave with them, which puts them in real danger and threatens their lives.
Moreover, the Israeli occupation has continued to prevent diagnostic medical devices from entering the strip for more than a year and impose military restrictions on the entry of several pharmaceutical items for cancer patients.
The Ministry of Health renews its call to the human rights institutions and humanitarian organizations to put pressure on the occupation because of its restriction on patients, as it prevents medication and prevents their exit for treatment outside the Gaza Strip and refuses to enter their medical and diagnostic equipment.
Palestinian Ministry of Health
Gaza Strip
July 17, 2023