Health System Resiliency Strengthening Project

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The objective of the Health System Resiliency Strengthening Project is to support Palestinian authority in securing continuity in healthcare service delivery and building its resilience to withstand future surge in demand for effective healthcare coverage. First, the immediate needs resulting from the recent conflict in Gaza for additional health financing will be addressed. Second, the fiscal health of the health system will be strengthened by rationalizing Outside Medical Referrals (OMRs), which are the main reason behind the arrears and deficit. The project consists of the following four components: (1) Emergency and rapid response window. The aim of this component is to provide timely and targeted interventions to deal with urgent needs and thus help mitigate further deterioration in the delivery of essential health services; it aims to ensure the continuation of basic healthcare services at minimum acceptable levels and avoid such services from experiencing systemic collapse. (2) Rationalizing outside medical referrals. To address the emergency situation, the project proposes to support the Palestinian Authority (PA) to institute immediate cost-cutting measures in order to improve efficiency in the current system without compromising access to needed and quality health services. (3) Supporting health coverage reform to strengthen sector resilience. While addressing immediate, emergency cost-drivers, the project will define a roadmap to Universal Health Coverage (UHC) for the Palestinian territories with a detailed calendar and planned actions in order to enhance the supply capacity to deliver needed services, reducing system losses and ensuring better quality of services to targeted populations. (4) Project management and capacity building. This component finances costs related to project management and capacity building efforts, including (i) short-term consultancies to support the management capacity of the MOH in the areas of procurement, financial management, and monitoring and evaluation; (ii) the provision of technical assistance and training to improve the capacity of the participating Ministry of Health units, cadres, and service providers; (iii) provision of essential equipment; (iv) project operating costs; and (v) external financial audits.