February 22
17:54
2016
Palestinians on Monday launched a global fundraising campaign aimed at finding the money to build their first specialist oncological hospital, organisers of the drive said. At a news conference in Ramallah they said that the cash-strapped Palestinian Authority could not meet the cost, estimated at $250-300 million, and president Mahmud Abbas appointed a public committee to mobilise Palestinian donors around the world. Health minister Jawad Awad said that in the absence of a Palestinian cancer treatment centre, patients have had to be sent to Israel, Jordan and Egypt for treatment, at a cost equal to 80 percent of the PA health budget.
