The COVID-19 pandemic is threatening to deepen a wellbeing crisis among Palestinian healthcare workers.
Half a century of military occupation and 14 years of illegal closure and blockade of Gaza have resulted in a Palestinian healthcare system that was fragile, fragmented and resource-deprived long before the arrival of COVID-19. Medical Aid for Palestinians interviewed doctors, nurses and other frontline staff to understand how responding to the pandemic in this challenging context has impacted their mental health and wellbeing.
They described how separation from loved ones, frequent loss of patients, lack of essential resources, and social stigma have caused widespread feelings of stress, unpreparedness, anxiety and exhaustion.
Our briefing paper illustrates the devastating toll of the pandemic on Palestine's healthcare heroes, and why international action is urgently needed to support them.
