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.