The World Bank announced a $10 million grant to support the Palestinian Authority in its efforts to improve the quality, efficiency and resilience of public health service delivery.

Despite efforts to improve access to and quality of health care in the Palestinian territories, much work remains to be done to improve utilization of primary health care in the West Bank . As the World Bank says.

He adds: One of the biggest causes of disease burden in the Gaza Strip is access to reliable care for people with chronic diseases, especially cancer . The Strengthening Health System Efficiency and Resilience Project will help address these challenges.

Commenting on this, Stefan Emblad, Director and Resident Representative of the World Bank in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, said: “Although government spending on health constitutes 4% of GDP, exceeding the level of many peer countries, the Palestinian health care system is finding it difficult to Providing the necessary care for all citizens. The new project, funded by the World Bank, aims to help ensure the continuity of health care services, expand their coverage, and build their resilience.”

He continued, "The ongoing restrictions on freedom of movement and access, continued pressures on public finances, and the continuous escalation of violence have weakened the health system and its ability to provide high-quality health care services. The Ministry of Health also relies on the external medical referral system to provide specialized health services to patients." These referrals are due to the lack of services in public hospitals, which impose a huge burden on the public finances of the Palestinian Authority, which leads to a narrowing of spending space on other basic health services, and priority expenditures in other sectors.

The project will prioritize primary health care and strengthen hospitals in order to increase access to and efficiency of services, thus contributing to reducing the financial burden of referrals and ensuring that the population receives timely treatment. The project aims to provide prevention and treatment of priority non-communicable diseases, especially high blood pressure, diabetes and cancer, at the primary care level in areas with low levels of access to services. In parallel, the project will focus on strengthening the public hospital system by providing the necessary medical equipment for treatment. Cancer, cardiovascular, maternal and neonatal health care.

The project will also contribute to the establishment of radiotherapy services in the Gaza Strip, which is one of the main obstacles to treating cancer patients in the Strip.

This project is an extension of the World Bank's long-term operational and technical support to strengthen the Palestinian healthcare system. Emblad commented: “The financing needs of the Palestinian health sector remain significant.

The World Bank will work in close coordination with development partners to achieve integration and avoid overlapping efforts in order to improve the sustainability of financing the health sector by reducing spending on external medical referrals.