Ministry of Health (Palestine)

This article is about the health ministry in the West Bank. For the health ministry in the Gaza Strip, see Gaza Health Ministry.

Ministry of Health
Agency overview
Formed1948 (first form)
1994 (second form)
JurisdictionGovernment of Palestine
Agency executive
Websitesite.moh.ps

The Ministry of Health is a ministry in the Palestinian government that is responsible for formulating health policies of Palestine. The Ministry of Health is primarily responsible for the healthcare system in the West Bank, while maintaining some level of administration of and support for medical services in the Gaza Strip.[1][2][3][4]

The foundation of the Palestinian Authority in 1994, upon the signing of the Oslo Accords, led to a shift in authority responsibilities of the healthcare system from the Israeli Administration to the Palestinian Authority. The Palestinian Ministry of Health was founded and since then, the ministry provides majority of health services to the population. [5]

Currently, the ministry is one of Palestine's four key healthcare providers along with the United Nations Relief and Works Agency, non-governmental organizations, and private sector, and in 2013 was operating 27 hospitals and 61% of hospital beds in Palestine.[6] In 2023 it was reported by the Palestinian Central Bureau for Statistics that the number of primary health care centres increased from 706 centres in 2010 to reach 765 centres in 2021, of which the Ministry of Health bears the greatest burden; 64% of the primary centres are affiliated to the Ministry of Health, followed by NGOs by 25%, UNRWA by 9% and Military Medical Services by 2%.[7]

From 2019 to 2024, Dr. Mai al-Kaila was the Minister of Health of Palestine. From 2024 until now, this responsibility has been entrusted to Maged Abu Ramadan.

Mission

[8]

  1. Improving strategic planning, governance, and sustainable financial solutions to optimize the use of available resources
  2. Encouraging healthier lifestyles and enhancing chronic disease management.
  3. Ensuring equitable access to high-quality healthcare, with a focus on disadvantaged and vulnerable populations.
  4. Strengthening financial sustainability through improved funding mechanisms and transparent financial management.
  5. Maximizing the impact of aid by aligning it with national health strategies.
  6. Fostering collaboration and integration between the public and private healthcare sectors.
  7. Expanding cross-sector cooperation, particularly in health-related aspects of national disaster and emergency response planning.

Recent activities

The Ministry of Health prioritized services focused on overall health such as emergency medical services, and over 13,000 emergency procedures were performed since October 2023. The Health Cluster was also effectively implemented which is a unified platform that brings together local and international health stakeholders in Palestine to coordinate crisis response and recovery efforts.[9]

From 14 October to 5 November 2024, UNICEF, in partnership with the Palestinian Ministry of Health and other organizations, carried out the second phase of a polio immunization drive in the Gaza Strip. The campaign was rolled out in three stages and utilized both health center-based vaccination sites and mobile units to ensure wide coverage. A total of 556,774 children - approximately 271,710 girls and 285,064 boys—were immunized, successfully reaching 94% of the intended child population. The effort was supported by 1,174 vaccination teams operating across the region.[10]

In March 2025, the Ministry of Health, in collaboration with UNICEF and the Government of Japan, launched a US$3.8 million initiative to enhance health and nutrition services for vulnerable populations in Gaza and the West Bank. This 12-month project aims to provide critical primary health care to approximately 180,000 children, women, and families. Key components include revitalizing primary health care services, improving antenatal and postnatal care, managing childhood illnesses, delivering essential nutrition interventions, training 300 health professionals, and establishing four mobile health teams to reach remote communities.[11]

List of ministers

The following is the list of health ministers of Palestine:[12]

All-Palestine Government
# Minister Party Government Term start Term end
1 Hussein Khalidi Independent All-Palestine 22 September 1948 1951
Government of Palestine
# Minister Party Government Term start Term end
1 Riyad al-Zanoun [ar] Fatah 1, 2, 3, 4 20 May 1994 29 October 2002
2 Ahmad al-Shibi [ar] Fatah 5 29 October 2002 30 April 2003
3 Kamal al-Sharafi [ar] Fatah 6 30 April 2003 7 October 2003
4 Jawad Tibi [ar] Fatah 7, 8 7 October 2003 24 February 2005
5 Thehny al-Wahidi [ar] Fatah 9 24 February 2005 29 March 2006
6 Basem Naim Hamas 10 29 March 2006 17 March 2007
7 Radwan al-Akhras [ar] Fatah 11 17 March 2007 14 June 2007
8 Fathi Abu Moghli [ar] Independent 12, 13 14 June 2007 16 May 2012
9 Hani Abdeen [ar] Fatah 14 16 May 2012 6 June 2013
10 Jawad Awad [ar] Fatah 15, 16, 17 6 June 2013 13 April 2019
11 Mai al-Kaila Fatah 18 13 April 2019 31 March 2024
12 Maged Abu Ramadan Independent 19 31 March 2024 Incumbent

See also

References

  1. ^ Qatar News Agency (11 September 2025). "Palestinian Ministry of Health announces resumption of child vaccination campaign in Gaza".
  2. ^ "The Politicization of Public Sector Employment and Salaries in the West Bank and Gaza". Al-Shabaka. 14 March 2021. Retrieved 2 February 2026.
  3. ^ Ministry of Health, HEALTH SYSTEM EFFICIENCY AND RESILIENCE PROJECT (P180263) PROJECT OPERATIONS MANUAL, August 2023, funded by the World Bank.
  4. ^ "State of Palestine - Council of Ministers". www.palestinecabinet.gov.ps. Archived from the original on 7 January 2024. Retrieved 2 February 2026.
  5. ^ Giacaman, R. (1 March 2003). "Health sector reform in the Occupied Palestinian Territories (OPT): targeting the forest or the trees?". Health Policy and Planning. 18 (1): 59–67. doi:10.1093/heapol/18.1.59. PMC 1457109. PMID 12582108.
  6. ^ Najjar, Shahenaz (July 2022). "Stakeholders' Perception of the Palestinian Health Workforce Accreditation and Regulation System: A Focus on Conceptualization, Influencing Factors and Barriers, and the Way Forward". International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. 19 (13): 8131. doi:10.3390/ijerph19138131. PMC 9265623. PMID 35805791.
  7. ^ "PCBS | PCBS: The World Health Day, 07/04/2023". pcbs.gov.ps. Retrieved 2 February 2026.
  8. ^ "State of Palestine Ministry of Health". mhpss.ps. Retrieved 24 March 2025.
  9. ^ Alkhaldi, Mohammed; Alrubaie, Malak (January 2025). "Roadmap for rebuilding the health system and scenarios of crisis path in Gaza". The International Journal of Health Planning and Management. 40 (1): 241–253. doi:10.1002/hpm.3861. ISSN 0749-6753. PMC 11704815. PMID 39415362.
  10. ^ UNICEF. (2024, October 31). State of Palestine Humanitarian Situation Report No. 32. https://www.unicef.org/media/165531/file/State-of-Palestine-Humanitarian-SitRep-No.32-31-October-2024.pdf
  11. ^ "In cooperation with the Palestinian Ministry of Health UNICEF and Government of Japan Sign Agreement to Improve Health and Nutrition Services for Vulnerable Children and Women in the State of Palestine". UNICEF. 11 March 2025. Retrieved 28 March 2025.
  12. ^ "وزارة الصحة الفلسطينية".
allikas: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Health_Minister_of_the_Palestinian_National_Authority