Health: A difficult and dangerous drug crisis and a shortage of swabs affect efforts to confront Corona

Health: A difficult and dangerous drug crisis and a shortage of swabs affect efforts to confront Corona

 The Gaza health spokesman, Dr. Ashraf Al Qidra, The Gaza Strip is going through a difficult and dangerous drug crisis that affects efforts to confront the epidemic situation and its developments in the besieged strip.

In a press conference about the shortage of medicines, medical supplies and laboratory examination materials for "Covid 19", Al-Qudra warned of the difficult effects on the health services system provided in hospitals and primary care centers, especially at this stage when the need to strengthen these funds and strengthen health efforts increases. To face the Covid 19 pandemic.

He called on all concerned parties locally, regionally and internationally to support the needs of the Ministry of Health to achieve a better response in terms of medicines, laboratory supplies, ventilators and sterilization requirements to achieve a better response with the outbreak of the epidemic in the Gaza Strip.

Al-Qudra also called on the international community to urgently lift the illegal and inhuman blockade of the Gaza Strip, and to pressure the occupation to provide all medical and humanitarian needs, as it is an occupying power under international law.

The spokesman for the Ministry of Health held that the Israeli occupation has expressed the serious consequences for the lack of humanitarian and health assets, which have been expressed in successive international reports.

In turn, the Director General of the General Administration of Pharmacy in Gaza Health, Dr. Munir Al-Barsh said that the percentage of deficit in pharmaceutical stocks reached 47%, while the percentage of deficit in medical consumables reached 33%. He cautioned that the health services were most affected by specialized health services such as cancer and blood diseases, where the disability rate was 63%, health care services 66%, mother and child health 56%, emergency and operations service 21%, kidney services and dialysis 41%.

He pointed out that the pharmacological reality and the prevention requirements associated with the services provided to Covid 19 patients are only sufficient for one month at the latest, and in the event that the number of cases with corona increases, this drains the remaining amount to less than that period.

"This comes knowing that what we consume from these preventive supplies and medicines, we consume it in one day," Al-Borsh added.

The director of the Laboratories Department, Dean of Mushtaha, indicated that the ministry suffers a deficit of 65% of all laboratory items, adding: "There is a severe shortage of special materials, and the swabs are nearly enough for a few days." Mushtaha explained that the operational materials and consumables for blood gas devices, kidney functions, and the chemical and viral tests necessary for those infected with Covid 19, there is a great shortage, which hinders the work of health personnel, which work in limited quantities, which are only sufficient for a few days, which endangers the health of patients.