13 August 2025 – In coordination with the European Union (EU), the World Health Organization (WHO) is supporting the Ministry of Health (MoH) and Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics (PCBS) calculate how health care costs impact financial hardship.

Making sure people receive the care they need without facing financial hardship is key to ensuring health for all.

During a 4-day technical workshop held at Birzeit University, participants from the MoH and PCBS learned about the concepts and methodologies used to measure financial hardship.

They used existing survey data from Palestine to estimate the number of households that spend a large share of their budget on health, how many are pushed into poverty because of this spending and how expenditure on items like medicine and consultations contributes to financial hardship.

The work is part of a global consultation led by WHO and the World Bank to produce new estimates on universal health coverage. Palestine, which has monitored financial hardship since 2004, is the first place to convene such a technical workshop.

Lack of financial protection reduces access to health care, undermines health status, deepens poverty and exacerbates health and socioeconomic inequalities, all of which are compounded by occupation, war and the consequent collapse of economic systems. When people are forced to choose between using health services and meeting other basic needs, some may forego health care.

Using recently gathered data, the MoH and PCBS are preparing a detailed analysis that will help identify which households are at most risk. This information will help inform policies on health insurance and the essential services to prioritize in public facilities.

The initiative is supported as part of the EU-WHO-MoH project on health financing 2024–2026.