MIFTAH, AMAN and ARIJ yesterday continued the implementation of the activities of their campaign “Money4Medicine” which was launched during last month’s Palestine International Festival.

The campaign is currently interacting with the public in general and with the social sector most impacted by the shortage of medicine in particular, through maintaining a presence in West Bank city centers and in the Gaza Strip.

The first point of interaction was in Ramallah between August 12 and 14, in front of and around the Palestine Medical Complex. A group of volunteers were trained in collecting signatures for the petition, which demands that the Ministry of Finance raise allocations for medication in the Ministry of Health’s budget to ensure the full provision of medicines listed in the Palestinian Health Ministry basket. The campaign considers this as an integral part of the right to access of health care, guaranteed by national laws and international instruments ratified by the state of Palestine, including the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights.

MIFTAH’s “Money4Medicine” campaign coordinator, Tamara Tamimi pointed out that the campaign corresponds with the Palestinian government’s “Citizen First” policy, calling on the government to give priority to the social sector, first and foremost the health sector, through exerting all possible efforts to increase allocations of medication in the ministry’s budget. Based on this, the campaign will complete its work in the remaining Palestinian cities in the days to come, interacting with Palestinian citizens in Dura, Hebron from August 15 – 19.

The “Money4Medicine” campaign aims to collect 100,000 signatures to demand that the Ministry of Finance raise allocations for medication in line with human rights standards and national policy criteria.

To follow the campaign and its program of activities, please visit the Money4Medicine Facebook page and website at:

http://www.facebook.com/money4medicine
www.money4medicine.ps