Providing essential lifesaving medical and non-medical supplies  for the health sector in Gaza in order to reduce avoidable mortality and morbidity The health system in Gaza has become increasingly undermined by the chronic shortages of essential drugs and disposables. As of March 2017, the percentage of drugs depleting have increased from 28%, 33% in April, 34% in May and in June 36% were reported at zero stock levels (zero stock means that availability is less than four weeks).  This trend coincides with the number of drugs that are completed depleted, with 24% in March, 25% in April, 29% in May and 31% in June. Furthermore, of the 853 medical disposables on the essential list, 32 % were out of stock in June. According to the Ministry of Health (MOH) the services most severely affected by drug shortages are: emergency room services, surgical operational theatre, intensive care units (ICU), orthopaedic and neonatal wards, and patients with chronic disease illnesses such as kidney failure. During a visit to Shifa Hospital, WHO was informed that surgeons working for the MoH in the public hospitals are left with no choice but to reuse single-use disposable items and expired items. In some case, doctors provide alternative drugs which may be less effective, or have increased side effects and in some cases, they simply improvise. The MOH is already heavily in debt to the private sector including medical supplies and the political internal division remains in place there seems to be little prospect of this situation improving anytime soon, placing patient lives at risk.  It is therefore, urgent to avail drugs and disposables to enable WHO to save lives. 

In addition, the hospitals face 20 hours without mains electricity. Currently, there are enough fuel donations to sustain the critical health services until October. However the more heavily generators are used, the more quickly they will degrade and need to be repaired or replaced. Many are already at risk of recurrent malfunctioning due to overuse.  This has increased the maintenance required, which is difficult to provide, as spare parts are on the dual-use list and restricted from entry to Gaza. Currently, 14 public hospitals, 18 NGO hospitals and many primary healthcare facilities are using generators to sustain heir services, since the start of the sudden increase in power cuts, which began on the 16th April when the Gaza Power Plant closed. According to the MOH, "the capacity to run these services is decreasing, posing a severe risk to the health sector". WHO is best placed to facilitate the supply of spare parts for generators and other life-saving medical equipment. 

The objective of this project is to provide essential lifesaving medical and non-medical supplies (generator equipment) needed to maintain the functioning of critical health services for the Gaza population and reduce avoidable mortality and morbidity.  By submitting this request for a grant, WHO is aiming at responding to  the immediate effect of the supply shortages in Gaza with key results from the project: 1) the selected and procured essential life-saving drugs will have been made available at the central drugs store in Gaza and the number of drugs and disposables at zero stock would be reduced 2) generators will have an increased life span, mitigating the risk posed by the over-use of fuel/generators for electricity 3) regular monitoring reports on the current situation and its impact on health will be issued three times over six months through a reliable and an independent information monitoring system.