On August 2017, Marina Tucktuck, Ranin Darkhawaja, Tareq Areqat, Shatha Mansour, Rita Giacaman and Motasem Hamdan published a new study in The Lancet logo volume 390, Special Issue, S29 titled "The role of non-governmental organizations in the health sector in the occupied Palestinian territory: a cross-sectional qualitative study"
The article aimed was to was to investigate the current role of local and international NGOs (INGOs) in the development of the Palestinian health system's policies and programmes.
The results of this study demonstrated that the majority of the local NGOs focused on primary healthcare and rehabilitation, while most of the INGOs worked on health development and emergency response. Local NGOs and INGOs complemented the work of the PMoH in health-service provision. Both were constrained by the predetermined national health strategy set by the PMoH without the active involvement of other actors. INGOs’ activities were constrained by pre-determined international health agendas, available funding and restrictions related to the military occupation. The coordination mechanism between the PMoH, local NGOs, and INGOs is limited to a health and nutrition cluster, a partnership of organizations that is committed to providing needs and evidence-based responses, with little effect on policies and plans. Despite available methods to avoid duplication and fragmentation of work and to fill service provision gaps, some NGOs agreed that the limited coordination and discontinuity of certain projects restrict their ability to fully meet the health needs of the Palestinian population.
For more information about the study, please contact the main author at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.or the scientific research office at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
