Anera’s Non-communicable Disease Clinics in Gaza
by Anera
Posted in: Programs
Before October 7th, Gaza grappled with severe shortages of medicines and equipment as well as inadequate services at healthcare facilities, hindering its ability to meet patient needs. With the onset of war and subsequent waves of evacuations and displacement, the situation deteriorated further, leading to virtually the complete collapse of the whole healthcare system. Thousands of injured individuals and patients were left without treatments, medical consultations and other health services.
The healthcare providers that remain operational have struggled to manage the influx of patients displaced by the war, including those seeking primary care like chronic disease patients in urgent need of doctor consultations and medications. Additionally, many new patients have developed non-communicable diseases at an unusually young age, because of war-related stress, extremely limited sources of food that are nutritionally and calorically inadequate, and often salty or polluted drinking water.
Recognizing the dire situation, Anera has established non-communicable diseases (NCD) clinics to provide primary healthcare services to displaced people with chronic diseases, particularly diabetes and hypertension, in underserved areas. We have established the NCD clinic at a minimal cost by co-locating them with our wound management clinics. A nurse and a pharmacist staff clinic, and specialized doctors attend the clinic two days a week.
The NCD clinic offers screenings, counseling services, and chronic medications at a time when many chronic disease patients struggle to find their medication or to consult a doctor at operating hospitals. Those few patients who manage to reach hospitals often face long waits and high transportation costs due to fuel shortages (the price of one liter of fuel is $30).
Imagine living with an entirely manageable health condition for years only to confront death when essential, common medicines become unavailable. This scenario — what Paul Farmer, echoing Haitians, called “stupid deaths” — is now familiar to many in Gaza.
The medicines and other healthcare supplies Anera provides at our clinics come from our medical donation partners, like Americares, Direct Relief and International Health Partners UK.
Anera’s comprehensive medical services at the NCD clinic provide the patients with essential healthcare, including screenings, follow-up appointments, proper consultations with specialized doctors, and prescribed medications. By establishing the clinic near shelters housing internally displaced people, we improve accessibility to health services, secure specialized doctor consultations two days a week, and ensure that patients regularly receive their needed medicines.
Achievements of Anera’s NCD Clinic
As of July 2024, our NCD clinic conducted a total of 1,772 consultations for 525 patients. Among them, 165 patients had high blood pressure and blood sugar levels despite no prior history of diabetes or hypertension, and returned to the NCD clinic for monitoring. Eighty-three patients were officially diagnosed with hypertension or diabetes and enrolled in our clinic, starting their prescribed medications.
Anera’s clinic has significantly enhanced the accessibility of health services for chronic patients, providing life-saving care and support in a time of critical need.
