Portrait: Gaza's Health Care System in Crisis

July 12, 2012 from The Guardian

Medical staff and the parents of young patients discuss the effect of five years of Israeli blockade and Hamas rule on Gaza's health care system. Power cuts and shortages of drugs and equipment mean patients are suffering. Those in urgent need of medical care often seek treatment in Israel -- but permission to travel is not always granted

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Gaza blockade

The blockade of the Gaza Strip refers to a land, air, and sea blockade on the Gaza Strip by Israel and Egypt. Israel eased the blockade for non-military goods in June 2010, and Egypt reopened the Rafah border crossing in 2011 for persons and goods. In 2006 Hamas won the Palest... Explore this topic

Israel

Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a parliamentary democracy in the Middle East, on the south-eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea. It borders Lebanon in the north, Syria in the northeast, Jordan and the West Bank in the east, Egypt and the Gaza Strip on the southwes... Explore this topic

Gaza

The Gaza Strip is a territory on the eastern coast of the Mediterranean Sea that borders Egypt on the southwest and Israel on the east and north. It is 41 kilometres long, and from 6 to 12 kilometres wide, with a total area of 365 square kilometres. The population of Gaza Stri... Explore this topic

Hamas

Hamas is the Palestinian Sunni Islamic or Islamist organization, with an associated military wing, the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades, located in the Palestinian territories. Since June 2007 Hamas has governed the Gaza Strip, after it won a majority of seats in the Palestinian ... Explore this topic

Health care

Health care is the diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of disease, illness, injury, and other physical and mental impairments in humans. Health care is delivered by practitioners in medicine, chiropractic, dentistry, nursing, pharmacy, allied health, and other care providers.... Explore this topic

Palestinian National Authority

The Palestinian Authority, is the interim self-government body established to govern the West Bank and Gaza Strip as a consequence of the 1994 Oslo Accords. Since its establishment in 1994, it has renamed itself the Palestinian National Authority and in 2013, after the United ... Explore this topic

Dialysis

In medicine dialysis is a process for removing waste and excess water from the blood, and is used primarily as an artificial replacement for lost kidney function in people with renal failure. Dialysis may be used for those with an acute disturbance in kidney function, or progr... Explore this topic

The Guardian

The Guardian, known until 1959 as The Manchester Guardian, is a British national daily newspaper. Currently edited by Alan Rusbridger, it has grown from a 19th-century local paper to a national paper associated with a complex organisational structure and international multimed... Explore this topic

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