Empty pharmacy shelves and exorbitant prices are common challenges to healthcare in Lebanon and Palestine. Palestinian children and adults are dying from treatable diseases because of a severe shortage of medicine. This loss of precious life is avoidable. All they need is basic medicine.

Lebanon is facing one of the worst economic crises in a century and a half, and this has devastating consequences on healthcare. The related surge in food insecurity has left many families vulnerable to malnutrition without access to care. Subsidies for pharmaceuticals have been cut and imports on medical drugs have plummeted, meaning that medicines are impossibly expensive if you can find them at all. The result: 50% of families in Lebanon cannot access the medicines they need, according to UNICEF.

In Palestine, 40% of essential medication is at zero stock level, which means that there is less than one month’s supply. The blockade of Gaza has restricted imports on many life-saving medicines for over 15 years, and financial strain has left hospitals without sufficient supplies. Palestine’s healthcare system is dangerously overstressed, and human lives are on the line.

In our 45 years of operation, we have rarely seen so many people in need of medical support. The overlap of food insecurity and limited access to healthcare poses a serious threat to the wellbeing of Palestinian communities. With the Lebanese health system and the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNWRA) both on the verge of economic collapse, it is up to us to ensure Palestinians can access life-saving medicines.

UPA works to provide the most urgently-needed pharmaceuticals, including antibiotics, painkillers, and medications for chronic diseases. As we gather for this holy month of Ramadan and unite in the spirit of generosity, your Zakat eligible gift can make a meaningful impact on so many lives.

Together, we can provide the medicines needed to save lives and help Palestinians heal.

The lack of affordable food and medicine have created dire conditions for Palestinian women and children, who are the most vulnerable to public health crises. One in ten children (aged 1-2) in the West Bank and Gaza are malnourished, and 10% of Palestinian children in Lebanon are stunted, reports UNICEF.

This severe level of malnourishment often starts even before birth. Poor nutrition in pregnant women can lead to premature birth, irreversible stunting, and chronic problems for their babies. Trapped by collapsing health systems, mothers do not have the resources to give their babies a healthy start.

“The cost of vitamins is very high in pharmacies. I was not able to buy these vitamins even though my doctor recommended taking them.” – Mother in the West Bank

UPA is working to send prenatal and children’s vitamins to treat malnutrition.

Will you help us give Palestinian children a healthier start?