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Lucy Carradine, West End Strategy Team
CHICAGO – A new in-depth report released by leading humanitarian aid organization MedGlobal finds that an alarming trend of extreme shortages of medicines and medical equipment is turning many treatable non-communicable diseases (NCDs), including diabetes, cardiovascular conditions, and kidney failure, into death sentences.
“Silent Crisis”: The Collapse of Chronic Disease Care in Gaza,” makes clear: “Constraints on aid entry are a key barrier to treatment.” From March 3-11, 2026, MedGlobal conducted a rapid assessment based on interviews with frontline health professionals across all Gaza governorates, ultimately finding that Gaza’s health system is no longer able to sufficiently sustain chronic care. They found a collapse of essential medicines supply, gaps in critical medical equipment, mass disruptions in treatment, widespread deterioration in patient outcomes, and a rise in deaths.
“In Gaza, an estimated 350,000 people living with chronic conditions face a rapidly deteriorating situation and preventable suffering,”
Joseph Belliveau, MedGlobal’s executive director
“In Gaza, an estimated 350,000 people living with chronic conditions face a rapidly deteriorating situation and preventable suffering,” said MedGlobal’s executive director, Joseph Belliveau. “Our rapid assessment provides frontline clinical evidence that the conflict and supply restrictions have triggered a system-wide collapse in the continuity of NCD care, transforming manageable conditions into life-threatening emergencies. Without immediate intervention, deaths will accelerate.”
The report found that 94% of surveyed health workers reported gaps in insulin availability for diabetes care. Over 30% of respondents report patients have stopped treatment entirely due to medicine shortages, while 28% are skipping doses to make limited supplies last longer.
More than 9 out of 10 health workers report increases in heart attacks and diabetic ketoacidosis (92% and 94% respectively), while 83% are seeing increases in strokes.
“Every day, we witness patients with cancer, chronic illnesses, and kidney disease struggling to survive without access to the medicines and treatments they desperately need,”
Dr. Salwa Al-Tibi, MedGlobal’s Country Director in Gaza
“Every day, we witness patients with cancer, chronic illnesses, and kidney disease struggling to survive without access to the medicines and treatments they desperately need,” said Dr. Salwa Al-Tibi, MedGlobal’s Country Director in Gaza. “Behind every medicine shortage is a patient whose condition is worsening, whose suffering is increasing, and whose hope is fading.”
“This crisis was as predictable as it was preventable. Treatable conditions like diabetes are turning into death sentences because basic medicine and equipment are not entering at scale almost nine months since the ceasefire deal. Medical supplies must be surged into Gaza immediately. Every day of delay is costing more patients their lives,” said Anastasia Moran, MedGlobal’s Director of Advocacy.
MedGlobal calls for an immediate and rapid scale-up of medical aid, deployment of international medical teams, and an unhindered flow of humanitarian supplies, which are critical to stabilizing healthcare delivery and preventing further loss of life.
Senior MedGlobal leaders and MedGlobal team members inside Gaza are available for interview to discuss the ongoing healthcare crisis in Gaza, and why ongoing medicine and medical equipment restrictions can be a death sentence for Palestinians with otherwise treatable conditions.
MedGlobal is a humanitarian nonprofit organization that provides emergency response and health programs to build resilience among vulnerable communities around the world. The organization’s health programs support victims of crisis and conflict, refugees, internally displaced persons, and marginalized communities in disaster-affected and low-resource settings.
