The first scene will catch your eye in the front door of El-rimal primary health center is the elderly tired faces, exhausted by sickness. Lack of medications in the Palestinian Ministry of Health- Gaza has increased their pain, therefore they find themselves forced to buy their medication although they cannot afford it in most cases.
“we came back empty-handed” the sixty-years-old man talking to himself while leaving the health center pharmacy.
Ahmed Hassan AL-Jammal came to the health center with his wife holding hands; he said, “She is suffering from cardiac problems, hypertensive and diabetes. When she feels sick, we rush to give her medications so she does not get worse, that’s why I make sure that her medications are always available, today I came here looking for her medications and I cannot find it, previously I had to borrow money to buy the medication”.
When Jammal was asked, why did he not go to a primary health care center in his area? He said” I went to more than one healthcare center and I can’t find medications in any of them, that’s why I came here to the central health care center, and I can’t find medication here too.
The MoH in Gaza reported that 63% percent (103 of 205) of essential medications for primary health care were at zero stock, with an additional 13 percent at levels sufficient for less than three months for chronic diseases such as hypertensive, diabetes, rheumatism; this poses threat to patient’s lives, who suffer from these diseases companies.
MoH calls upon the international community and the humanitarian institutions to provide needed medications to the ministry of health as soon as possible.
