Al-Nawati tragedy: a 16-year-old patient with leukaemia and no access to cancer care

• Published in: The lancet oncology Vol. 23; no. 4; pp. 447 - 449
• Main Author: Amer, Faten
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England Elsevier Limited 01.04.2022
• Subjects: Adolescent; Cancer; Children; Debt; Economic crisis; Health care; Health services; Hospitals; Human rights; Humans; Leukemia; Leukemia - therapy; Medical referrals; Oncology; Palliative care; Patients; Purchasing; Gaza Strip; Israel; West Bank; Jerusalem Israel; United States > US
• ISSN: 1470-2045; 1474-5488
• DOI: 10.1016/S1470-2045(22)00091-2

A Perspective5 discussed the obstacles to accessing cancer care faced by children in the Gaza Strip.5 A main challenge is that the governmental sector, the Palestinian Ministry of Health (MOH), does not directly offer treatment to Palestinian patients with cancer. [...]the MOH refer these patients to non-governmental hospitals, from which health services are purchased. The hospital board called for an immediate solution—requesting, in a public statement on Oct 29, 2019, the Palestinian authority to pay the debt (an amount equal to US$60 million, according to the hospital) to save the hospital from closure.7 Palestinian people launched a campaign in the streets and on social media to gather money from public donations. Lessons could be learned from the neighbouring country of Jordan and its success story of building a comprehensive cancer care system from prevention through early detection and treatment to palliative care with an entire team of specialists to consult on each case, including radiologists, oncologists, surgeons, neurologists, and nurses.10 To that end, efforts should focus on (1) encouraging Palestinian oncologists working abroad to return by offering competitive financial packages; (2) creating an enticing academic environment and boosting the numbers of oncologists and consultants; (3) establishing collaborations and international partnerships with top cancer centres worldwide willing to offer their help and support (eg, the National Cancer Institute and St Jude Children's Research Hospital [USA] who already run global initiatives); and (4) promoting and facilitating community, corporate, and not-for profit entity involvement in cancer care fundraising programmes, potentially offering incentives and tax reductions to those actively involved in this process.