Palestine has a significant burden of NCDs and an increasing incidence of cancer. Currently, cancer causes approximately 14% of all deaths in the country, and projections estimate that the incidence will double by 2040. As a result, the Palestinian public health system is facing high demand for the provision of appropriate oncology care services.
Cancer surveillance is universally defined as the ongoing, timely, and systematic collection and analysis of information on cancer. A key component of cancer surveillance is cancer registration, which includes the systematic collection of informaton on incidence, histology, morphology, behavior, topography, stage, type of treatment, mortality, and survival.
Cancer registration in Palestine started in 1996, during which time the national registry underwent several rounds of review and refurbishment. However, cancer registration still needed thorough assessment to be enhanced.
As a result, PNIPH developed a national report reflecting the cancer situationn in both the West Bank and Gaza Strip. To agree on a clear roadmap for cancer registry improvements two assessment workshops with relevant stakeholders were conducted in the presence of the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) and several meetings were also conducted with the Ministry of Health (MoH).
PNIPH and the MoH revised, updated, and unified the Cancer Notification Form, and identified focal points for cancer at each health facility.
In the coming period, PNIPH will continue to work towards addressing these challenges with technical and partial financial support from WHO-EMRO and Geneva. A roadmap to improve data quality and completeness in the cancer registry is being implemented in collaboration with the MoH and other partners. The roadmap includes a long-term plan for building the capacity of the registry and adopting a proactive data collection process. Following this work, PNIPH will be able to conduct analyses and develop indicators in relation to health outcomes of cancer patients and effectiveness of national screening programs.
A national cancer committee will be formed, bringing together key stakeholders to define strategic priorities. A strategy will be developed based on the assessment conducted in 2019 that outlined the existing burden and capacity of oncology services. The strategy will include priorities for action and components related to the continuum of care (from prevention to palliation), including cancer registration and research, while taking into consideration environmental factors, health behavior, and the unique geopolitical context in the West Bank and Gaza. Additionally, it will set a strategic direction for the prevention and control of cancer in Palestine. A national hospital master plan for clinical oncology services will be developed to ensure better strategic planning and use of internal and external investments based on hospital rehabilitation/expansion plans and health system resources.
