ADVOCACY UPDATE on Augusta Victoria Hospital and PA Receivables
(updated 18 October 2017)
To the International Partners of Augusta Victoria Hospital
ADVOCACY UPDATE on Augusta Victoria Hospital and PA Receivables
What is the situation?
The medical services of the Augusta Victoria Hospital (AVH) are in jeopardy due to the lack of payments from the Palestinian Authority (PA) for the treatment of patients referred to the hospital by the Palestinian Ministry of Health.
What are the implications?
Treatment of highly vulnerable cancer and kidney patients from the West Bank and Gaza will be curtailed in the coming days because of severe shortages in the essential medications and other resources required to maintain the safety of patients and overall quality of services.
How can this situation be averted?
Augusta Victoria Hospital needs the active support of its international partners to ensure the payment of PA debts, which currently stand at over NIS 120 million.
How can you support?
Encourage your government to urge the Palestinian Authority to immediately reduce the debt owed to Augusta Victoria Hospital.A payment of at least 40 million NIS is needed urgently in order to ensure that there is no interruption to the life-saving treatment that AVH provides to cancer and kidney patients from Gaza and the West Bank.
Further information
If any further information is required to provide such advocacy support, please contact the AVH Chief Executive Officer or LWF Representative in Jerusalem, and monitor “News & Resources” on the LWF Jerusalem website: Jerusalem.LutheranWorld.org
Contact details
- Rev. Mark B. Brown, LWF Representative in Jerusalem
+972 (0) 2 627-9907, +972 53-525-5843
[email protected]
- Mr. Walid V. Nammour, AVH CEO
+972 (0) 2 627-9902
[email protected]
Background information
The LWF and Augusta Victoria Hospital management have been aware of the situation of the alarmingly high and unsustainable levels of debt of the Palestinian Authority toward AVH for more than three years now. As a result, the LWF and AVH have been involved in continuous advocacy work and meetings with relevant PA officials at all political levels in order to address the situation.
In the spring of this year, AVH reached a critical juncture. As the hospital was running out of vital medication to treat critically ill patients, on Sunday, 7 May 2017, it was forced to turn patients away. The extensive local media coverage of the situation prompted an immediate reaction from the Palestinian Authority, including a statement by the Minister of Health. The PA statement, published in the media, read that “an agreement had been reached on all unresolved issues" in coordination with Palestinian Minister of Finance, and that "we will do our best to end the crises facing Jerusalem hospitals."
Unfortunately, in the months following this statement, the PA debt increased to an unprecedented level, which prompted the LWF General Secretary to write directly to the President of the Palestinian Authority, expressing that without the necessary payments, AVH may eventually be led toward a complete halt of all hospital operations. The General Secretary appealed to the PA President to use his constitutional powers to ensure that the situation would be resolved without delay.
As a result of the letter, a new meeting took place on 7 September 2017 between AVH staff and the Minister of Finance. It was confirmed by the Minister himself that the PA would immediately settle all outstanding 2016 debts. Throughout the month of September, LWF and AVH monitored the situation closely. There were been frequent, often daily, contacts between the AVH staff and staff in the Ministries of Health and Finance. The Ministry of Finance received European Union funding earmarked for East Jerusalem Hospitals, including the share for AVH amounting to approximately NIS 36 million. These funds were received by LWF/AVH on Monday, 16 October, but the overall PA debt to the hospital is still over 120 million NIS.
The financial situation for AVH worsened since May 2017. Due to the lack of payments from the PA, Augusta Victoria Hospital increased its debts toward its own suppliers and exhausted its lines of credit, including overdrafts.
LWF/AVH notified the Palestinian Authority of this critical situation in conversations with PA officials and in writing to the Minister of Health, the Minister of Finance, and the Minister of Jerusalem Affairs on Sunday, 8 October. An announcement was sent to key diplomatic missions in Jerusalem and other partners and stakeholders on Monday and Tuesday, 9 and 10 October. The announcement stated that, due to the lack of PA payments and an acute shortage of resources, AVH is preparing to halt all but life-saving operations starting Monday, 16 October. The curtailment of services at AVH began on Monday, 16 October, and is likely to continue until sufficient funds are received from the PA for the treatment AVH has already provided to patients referred to AVH by the PA.
Augusta Victoria Hospital needs the active support of its international partners to ensure the payment of PA debts!
Encourage your government to urge the Palestinian Authority to immediately reduce the debt owed to Augusta Victoria Hospital. A payment of at least 40 million NIS is needed urgently in order to ensure that there is no interruption to the life-saving treatment that AVH provides to cancer and kidney patients from Gaza and the West Bank.
For additional information, read this article published by Al Jazeera on Thursday, 19 October 2017.
