400 kidney patients in Gaza are at risk

Gaza’s Health Minister Bassem Naim said 400 kidney patients in Gaza are at risk as dialysis solution provided by the World Health Organization is on the brink of running out.

The warning came when Naim welcomed to Gaza a delegation from the Gaddafi International Foundation on Tuesday.

Naim praised the Libyans’ role in ongoing support of the Palestinian cause in Arab and international forums.

“We are suffering from difficulty in producing funds required for the ministry’s operating expenses, which are estimated at more than 2.5 million dollars a month, and in paying expensive rent for storage,” the health minister said.

Most of the medicines donated to the Gaza Strip are either outdated or damaged, Naim told the Libyan delegation. He added that the Israeli economic blockade is to blame for a critical shortage in spare parts used in medical equipment, much of which has broken down due to the strip’s frequent power failures.

The Libyan delegation expressed willingness to help provide the ministry with priorities and needs, and to help send Palestinian doctors abroad and Libyan doctors to the strip for training.