Press Details

• 07 Feb, 2024
• Gaza Health Initiative

The Amman Declaration to Rebuild Health Sector in Gaza

Issued Upon the Conclusion of the First International Conference to Rebuild Health Sector in Gaza, Held in Amman on February 7, 2024, under the patronage of His Majesty King Abdullah II ibn Al Hussein

 We unequivocally affirm that Gaza civilians—like all civilians—must be protected and cared for during times of war and conflict. Likewise, the people of Gaza should not have their lives and livelihoods destroyed, their health and well-being jeopardized, nor the healthcare and medical services subjugated to destruction, whether intentional or incidental.

Therefore, we declare:

 Article 1: A health system is a system. If any one part of the system is under attack or dismantled, the entire system is prone to fail. We contend a health system includes every aspect of delivering aid and maintaining health, from ambulance services and first responders to the surgical theater and the rehabilitation of patient; from access to clean water and food, to proper waste disposal, to access to primary health care. The Gaza health system is both vital and vulnerable.

 Article 2: It is a moral obligation to provide basic needs, healthcare and medical aid to Gaza civilians. Civilian populations in war zones must be permitted the right to immediate access to life saving health services. It is the duty of all responsible governments, organizations, and world citizens to assist in providing urgently needed emergency health services to besieged population in war zones such as the case in Gaza, and to exert every possible means to allow sufficient health care needs and life-maintaining supplies and resources to be delivered unhindered.

Article 3: Hospitals and healthcare facilities are sacrosanct. “Civilian hospitals organized to give care to the wounded and sick, the infirm and maternity cases, may in no circumstances be the object of attack, but shall at all times be respected and protected by the Parties to the conflict.” (Geneva Convention Article 18). Furthermore, no party should conduct any military operations, nor store munitions, nor take refuge in a hospital or healthcare facility as it may put civilians in harm’s way.

Article 4: All Gaza civilians delivering—and receiving—healthcare and medical aid must not be hindered, intimidated, nor targeted. There should be no "obstacle to the humanitarian activities" and that wounded and sick "shall be respected and protected in all circumstances." (Geneva Convention Article 18). Gaza civilians requiring access to the available healthcare “system” must not be forced into choosing temporary security over lifesaving and life-prolonging treatment and medical attention.

Article 5: Rebuilding the Gaza health sector will require a Gaza-led private-public international coalition. Strategies for rebuilding Gaza’s damaged, destroyed, or substandard healthcare facilities— and their correlated health services and staffing—must be designed, supported, and rebuilt as soon as possible by all relevant governmental and international NGOs with Gaza leadership and Gaza input, considering the holistic system-based approach to health and its determinants whether social, environmental, economic, or political.

Article 6: The establishment of an international trust under Palestinian control. This trust must be put in place to fund: 1) the immediate restoration of well-functioning public health system including primary, secondary and tertiary healthcare services capable of adequately meeting the needs of the population of concern such as the population of Gaza now, including their specific wartime requirements; 2) assistance in implementing strategies for the immediate and long-term reconstruction of the health services, including medical structures, equipment, and personnel; and 3) developing a sustainable and protected future health care system for the population as is required for Gaza, and to ensure that such enacted plans will have resilience to withstand similar occasions of instability.

We call upon all interested parties, including individuals, governments, humanitarian organizations, and healthcare associations to act posthaste—with all respect to Gaza leadership and culture—and join our apolitical and non-sectarian coalition. We further call upon all parties to demand immediate ceasefire, open access to Gaza for delivery of food, water, healthcare needs and other life-sustaining supplies, repair damaged and dysfunctional healthcare facilities to resume their functionalities, stop avoidable deaths and allow the urgent evacuation of ill or injured citizens, particularly children, in order for them to receive life-saving treatment

 In addition to an immediate cease-fire, all above items require the opening of the Rafah crossing to allow incoming aid and evacuation of injured, as well as the restoration of UNRWA funding. We urge the international committee to work in this direction to avoid further deterioration of the living conditions of the Gazan population who are facing death, injuries, famine, and displacement.

Thus, we declare our interest to work with the global community to limit suffering, save lives, heal the injured, and protect all civilians irrespective of citizenship, nationality, or religious affiliation, with the goal being better and more comprehensive healthcare for all the people of Gaza