The Hindu Business Line : WHO concern for Gaza patients needing specialised treatment

NEW YORK: UN agencies operating in the Gaza Strip have voiced serious concern over the halt in patients leaving the restive region for specialised hospital treatment after the radical Hamas group took control of the Health Department tasked with making r eferrals abroad.

The Hamas de facto authorities in Gaza took over on March 22 the Palestinian Authority Ministry of Health Referral Abroad Department, which oversees the process by which local people receive approval to travel for medical care.

Since then the Palestinian Authority Ministry of Health in the West Bank town of Ramallah has not approved or funded applications for treatment outside Gaza, affecting many patients with serious and complicated conditions.

In addition, Israel and Egypt will not allow these patients to exit Gaza unless they have been approved by the Palestinian Authority in Ramallah. According to the UN World Health Organisation (WHO), around 900 patients a month were being referred outside Gaza for treatment at hospitals in Israel, East Jerusalem, Egypt and Jordan in the first half of 2008.

“We are very worried about the situation,” said Tony Laurance, acting Head of WHO in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. “We have already seen referrals affected, and patients will die if they do not receive the treatment they require.” - PTI

Prev: Rupee at 50.83/85
Next: Firstsource buys back more FCCBs

Business Line | NUS Index |

Related Topics
Books
Browser's Corner
Cinema
Domestic Travel
Entertainment & Leisure
Fitness First
Food & Cuisine
Gender
Health
International Travel
Lifestyle
People
Radio/TV
Showbiz
Social Welfare

Copyright copy; 2009, The Hindu Business Line. Republication or redissemination of the contents of this screen are expressly prohibited without the written consent of The Hindu Business Line