Israel approves mobilization of hospital-grade ventilators to West Bank
Project Rozana will be funding onsite training for Palestinian ICU medical professionals, which will take place at Rambam Hospital in Haifa.
By ZACHARY KEYSERA view shows an Aventa-M medical ventilator next to a bed inside a pavilion of Crocus Expo exhibition centre, turned into a temporary hospital amid the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak, on the outskirts of Moscow, Russia May 11, 2020(photo credit: REUTERS)
The Australia-based Project Rozana will be delivering ventilators as well as other life-saving support systems to the Palestinian Authority PA, following a plea for help from the Palestinian Foreign Affairs minister, the NGO announced Wednesday.The NGO will also be funding onsite training for Palestinian ICU medical professionals, which will take place at Rambam Hospital in Haifa."Despite the best efforts of local health authorities, the capacity of the Palestinian health system to cope with potential increases in caseload remains severely impaired by longstanding challenges and critical shortages, particularly in the Gaza Strip," it noted in a press statement.At the moment, there are only 343 adult ventilators spread across the Palestinian territories for a population of 4.9 million people, according to a tally by the UN World Health Organization – 87 in the Gaza Strip and 256 in the West Bank – many of which are already in use.The coordination was approved and endorsed by the Israeli government in conjunction with the WHO. The procurement of the hospital-grade ventilators was facilitated by the Australian government.The UN said that it is focused on supporting the Palestinian territories in their fight against the coronavirus, adding that the mobilization of the additional ventilators by Project Rozana would certainly help address the shortages and is "tremendously encouraged." WHO is currently prioritizing a plan to support the mobilization of an additional 100 ventilators and other ICU equipment to address the crisis.According to an official letter written to Project Rozana, Palestinian Minister for Foreign Affairs Dr. Riad Al-Malki stated that 40-50 ventilators are needed immediately to treat current coronavirus patients, and another 250 will be needed "as soon as possible" to fight the anticipated second wave of coronavirus infections.Project Rozana intends to immediately send the PA 20 ResMed "Astral 150" hospital-grade life-support invasive ventilators, disposable air tubes, endotracheal tubes, filters, etc.; four continuous renal replacement therapy units (CRRT); four external batteries; 20 vital signs patient monitors; 80 blood infusion pumps; 40 non-invasive ventilators such as the ResMed Lumis150 VPAP ST-A, with masks and other disposables; and twenty high-flow oxygenation units in addition to the onsite training at Rambam.“The Palestinian Authority is competing with better-resourced communities worldwide that are less constrained in their access to funds,” said Ron Finkel, Project Rozana founder and chairman. “Our core mission is to empower the Palestinian health system and, with the active support of the Australian government, we have sourced and will deliver 20 of these Australian-made ventilators immediately. We are also funding the training of Palestinian ICU health teams who will be treating the critically ill patients.”In the urgent plea, Malki said the PA health authorities are advising that the coronavirus spread could turn into a humanitarian disaster if the Palestinian territories do not possess these vital systems in time.
“Our existing infrastructure will be sorely tested without access to sophisticated equipment to provide the additional capacity needed to meet the inevitable surge in critical care patients infected with COVID-19,” he added.The ventilators were sent via air mail to Israel, and are intended to be delivered by May 28 to Ramallah for distribution to local hospitals.
