75. Policy Research Incorporated. Health Status and Health Services in the West Bank and Gaza Strip: Health Care Facilities Feasibility Study, West Bank/Gaza. Maryland, USA: Policy Research Incorporated, 1989: 67 pp.

This report was commissioned as a US Agency for International Development consultancy, initially in relation to proposed hospital construction projects in Hebron and Gaza. The report goes beyond this and presents an evaluation of the health sector as a whole in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip and puts forward a series of recommendations.

Concerning health care needs it is concluded that previous improvements in health have been eroded over the past 2-5 years and that Intifada related injuries present a new problem. It is recommended that USAID provide direct and indirect support to the private sector though not to the Israeli sector, and that developing a system to cope with Intifada related injuries should be encouraged.

Concerning health services it is concluded that there is a great deal maldistribution and shortage of hospital beds, and that the following should be supported: Patient's Friends Society Hebron multipurpose health facility, Ittihad Hospital expansion, Al-Ahli rehabilitation. The report notes that there is a shortage of outpatient facilities, and that AID should support PHC/MCH center development. Both sectors should have proper needs assessment. Attention is drawn to the need for rehabilitation and mental health services.

Concerning health equipment, the report draws attention to the existence of sophisticated diagnostic technologies in some centers, and to the need for a proper needs assessment and suitable training before more equipment purchase is supported.

Attention is drawn to the low physician/population ratio, the need for more nurses, and the need for certain specializations.

For planning purposes, the need for a comprehensive study of health service needs is repeatedly emphasized.