Palestine Emerging coalition of Palestinian private sector leaders unveils transformative Healthcare Plan for West Bank and Gaza to address 40% of public deficit

Business, civil society and policymaker coalition proposes beacon of hope healthcare roadmap to stimulate and sustain post-conflict recovery and double GDP by 2050

• Coalition of 100 Palestinian and international leaders provides long-term strategy and stress-tested blueprint for health in Palestine.
• Blueprint identifies nine game-changing catalysts for improved health outcomes, public deficit reduction and reconstruction in West Bank and post-conflict Gaza.
• Aggregated data of health demand, supply and finance evolution informed by bespoke healthcare survey by Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research.
• Majority of respondents (58.6%) favour compulsory health insurance, to inject $633m into poorly-funded current system through hybrid model by 2030.
• Urgent call for blended finance models and enabling policy and investment environments with $1.58 billion healthcare investment projected by 2050 across West Bank and Gaza.

WASHINGTON, Dec. 10, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- With backing from UN officials, the World Bank, WHO and Harvard Medical School, a coalition of over 100 leaders and experts from Palestinian business and civil society, international organisations and funding bodies today launched a data-driven healthcare blueprint for the West Bank and Gaza to have a sustainable, standalone health system.

As war continues, Healthcare Partnership & Transformation is a detailed and stress-tested plan for saving the Palestinian healthcare system which is overcome with debt, demand, and division. Led by Palestine Emerging, delivery of the plan is set to include Anera, the World Bank, the World Health Organisation, Gaza WASH Cluster members and a number of Palestinian private sector players from health and adjacent industries and private hospital networks.

The work is informed by a bespoke survey conducted for Palestine Emerging's Healthcare Partnership and Transformation by Dr Khalil Shikaki of the Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research (PSR). This highlighted the health inequalities between different regions of the West Bank and for women. Palestinians surveyed said they are willing to pay for better quality care, with the detailed results helping underpin plans to roll out more health insurance products, which could inject $633m into the healthcare system.

This is despite nearly half of the Palestinian population being unemployed or working in the informal economy. As one response, the blueprint includes hybrid health-insurance models that could increase collections tenfold to 1 billion ILS by 2030, reducing share of government contributions. Government public health expenditure is currently estimated at 40% of public debt.

Healthcare Partnership and Transformation is based on aggregated data of health demand, supply and finance evolution and is designed to be delivered by identified counterparties in current conditions, even as the devastation in Gaza and violence in the West Bank continues.

The plans lay out a number of stress-tested catalysts and pilots to accelerate existing transformation efforts that will positively impact Palestine and the region, including:

• Unified Electronic Medical Records
  Integrating EMR systems for public-private unified patient data sharing.
• Insurance Model
  Implementation of hybrid insurance model with universal basic package.
• Mobile Units for Critical Healthcare
  Deploying mobile units in Gaza and underserved areas.
• Medical Corridor for Essential Supplies
  A short-term West Bank-Gaza route for essential supplies and patient transfers.
• Training and Accreditation
  Standardizing healthcare training, protocols, and accreditation across Palestine.
• Shift to Concession Model
  Attract sustainable private healthcare investments, also with Public-Private Partnerships.
• Telehealth Platform
  Providing remote consultations and diagnostics via mobile and web platforms.

The full blueprint, as well as references, survey results and accompanying literature and data can be accessed at: https://palestine-emerging.org/

Shireen Shelleh, Palestine Emerging Executive Director, said, "Health is not only a vital service for sustaining life but also a fundamental economic pillar that influences countless aspects of society. This exceptional initiative leverages a global network of supporters to provide valuable insights on enhancing quality and accessibility, particularly in the challenging conditions faced in Palestine."

Dr C. Ross Anthony, Former Director of Global Health and Director Israeli-Palestinian Initiative, RAND Corporation, said, "This is a hugely impressive blueprint, and I was honoured to contribute to this research. The level of destruction in Gaza in particular means that reconstruction of the healthcare sector is a mammoth undertaking with costs that are likely to greatly exceed forecasts to date. Gaza will need the support of governments, international organizations, and the private sector."

Sigrid Kaag, the UN's Senior Humanitarian and Reconstruction Coordinator for Gaza and former Netherlands Deputy Prime Minister, said, "Palestine Emerging presents a robust economic strategy. This comprehensive breakdown of healthcare plans represents a genuine effort to tackle deeply entrenched challenges within a devastating landscape. Achieving success will require breaking down silos and overcoming barriers to drive meaningful progress." 

Dr Salmaan Keshavjee, Director, Center for Global Health Delivery and Professor of Global Health and Social Medicine at Harvard Medical School, said, "The scale and urgency of healthcare needs in Gaza is monumentally unimaginable. This work is based on solutions that already exist, that have been used successfully in a number of settings, and can immediately save lives and reduce suffering."

Dr Mohammad Abu Zaineh, Palestinian founder of the AHEAD Research Network and INSERM-AMU Chair of Excellence in Health Economics and Policy at Aix-Marseille School of Economics, said, "The private sector and its capabilities are leading this collaborative solution, and hats off to the use of evidence, data and modelling to come to some remarkable conclusions and shape them into actionable plans. The Palestinian health future needs this to be delivered."

Dr Shawna Novak, Executive Director of the Canada International Scientific Exchange Program (CISEPO), said, "This blueprint is a step forward advancing healthcare in Palestine, emphasizing collaboration, inclusivity and shared goals. It brings together expertise from the West Bank and Gaza, local and international partners, and diverse sectors, offering a forward-looking preliminary framework that aligns with broader regional aspirations for stability, development and well-being. It shows cooperation and shared responsibility make meaningful progress possible. This is not an endpoint but a good foundation for sustained partnership and impact."

Baron Frankal, CEO of The Portland Trust and former NED Board Director of two UK NHS Trusts, said, "The systemic solutions outlined here, most notably the shift towards health insurance, are not orthodox and may not be popular – but they might just work. These are the sorts of practical solutions that need to be out there on the table, facing reality as it is not as we may want it to be."

ABOUT PALESTINE EMERGING 

The 100-strong coalition of Palestinian business leaders and civil society provides an economic blueprint for long-term sustainable growth in the West Bank and Gaza. Their plans build on published sources, updated, reviewed, and combined. The Healthcare Partnership and Transformation is a detailed and stress-tested plan to create a sustainable Palestinian healthcare system based on nine catalysts to transform the local healthcare landscape. https://palestine-emerging.org/ contains all details of the economic blueprint and healthcare plan, references and the main publications used.