MoH: Gaza out of supplies, "medical disaster" at hand

Published yesterday (updated) 01/08/2009 19:39

Gaza – Ma’an – Ministry of Health warehouses are running out of 80 different kinds of cancer, psychiatric and post-operative medications and 125 different kinds of medical supplies relating to thalassemia and dialysis treatments.

Already limited supplies have meant mediations get reserved for the most severe cases, which is "putting the lives of at least 349 patients at risk," head of the planning department in the Ministry of Health Ashraf Abu Mahadi said.

The general administration of the ministry blamed the siege and Israeli border officials for preventing supplies, most of which are on order or waiting in storage containers outside the Strip, from getting to patients.

Senior official in the ministry Yousef Al-Mudalal warned of a health catastrophe that might claim the lives of hundreds of patients if meds are not brought in to Gaza soon. He urged human rights organizations to immediately intervene and pressure Israel to let medications into Gaza to prevent a "medical disaster."

Earlier this week the World Health Organization released a report saying limited access to medical supplies in Gaza was creating a health crisis. The document focused on unusable medical equipment due to lack of spare parts and the resulting poor quality of care available to patients.

It also estimated that 500 tons of donated medical supplies will go unused because they are not needed or do not meet Health Ministry standards, while hundreds of thousands of dollars in other supplies are overstocked and unnecessary.

"The main issue here about the blockade is that it undermines the supply system as a whole," head of WHO's office in Gaza Mahmoud Daher said.

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