Scaling up COVID-19 response across the occupied Palestinian territory and maintaining temporary patient referral mechanism in Gaza On 30 January 2020, the WHO Director-General declared the COVID-19 outbreak a “public health emergency of international concern” (PHEIC). The Emergency Committee has also provided recommendations to WHO, to all countries, and to the global community, on measures to control the outbreak. On the 11 March 2020, WHO announced the COVID-19 outbreak a pandemic. On 5 March, the Ministry of Health (MoH) of the occupied Palestinian territory (oPt) reported its first 7 confirmed COVID-19 cases to WHO. Since then, MoH has reported a cumulative total of 43,345 confirmed cases, with 12,803 active cases across the oPt (as of 17-Sep-2020, 22:00hrs). Regrettably, 278 people died due to COVID-19. The first four local cases were detected within the community in the Gaza Strip on August 25, when the family members of a patient who developed COVID-19 symptoms after being referred to Jerusalem, tested positive as well. Local authorities in the Gaza Strip have so far reported a total of 2,176 confirmed cases, out of which 1,756 are still active cases (as of 17-Sep-2020,22:00hrs). 

Since the onset of the pandemic, the WHO office in the occupied Palestinian territory (oPt) and partners have been gradually expanding the support to the Palestinian Authority’s Ministry of Health (MoH) to prepare for and respond to the COVID-19 outbreak. These efforts intensified since the first reported cases in oPt. The overall objective of this project is to support the Palestinian Authority Ministry of Health (PA MoH) to contain the human-to-human transmission of the COVID-19. The project aims to strengthen and scale-up the capacity to early detect COVID-19 and adequately trace contacts of confirmed cases. WHO will support the PA MoH and Gaza health authorities in: (1) procuring and delivering essential supplies and equipment needed to scale-up laboratory testing for COVID-19 and expanding laboratory support (3) scaling-up MOH capacity in COVID-19 case detection and management through training health workers. WHO estimates that up to 70,000 women and men in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip will have access to adequate COVID-19 screening through laboratory testing. An additional 100 health workers in Gaza would benefit from the provision of capacity building on COVID-19 case management. At least 500,000 Palestinians in Gaza would receive public health messages on how to prevent COVID-19 through social media, printed messages, etc. 

The project will also maintain a coordination mechanism established by WHO oPt on a temporary basis to reinstate a centralized mechanism to support patients and companions required by Israel to submit permit applications in order to reach essential health services in the rest of the occupied Palestinian territory. This temporary mechanism established following the suspension of coordination between the Palestinian Authority and Israel after a series of consultations with the Humanitarian Coordinator is aligned with the PA Ministry of Health’s referrals system ensures oversight and monitoring of patient and companion permit delays and denials and signposts patients facing delays or denials of permits to appeals processes and advocacy organizations. An estimated 1,200 male and female Gaza patients/companions would benefit.

This allocation would contribute to the achievement of the objectives of the inter-agency COVID-19 response plan launched on 27 March, revised 28 August as well as the Health Cluster Gaza Immediate Needs Plan launched 28 August 2020. It is also in line with the Palestinian National COVID-19 Response Plan launched by the PM’s office on 26 March 2020.