Rheumatic Diseases in Palestine

Rheumatology care has witnessed notable progress in Palestine over the past two decades, a trajectory detailed in this chapter. The Palestinian territories encompass the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, the latter of which is one of the most densely populated areas in the world. However, beyond the pervasive economic and political instability and its ramifications, optimal rheumatology care faces a number of distinct obstacles. These include a shortage of practicing rheumatologists and rheumatology services, as well as challenges in providing advanced therapies, such as biologics, for rheumatic diseases. Developing realistic strategies is essential to address these barriers and establish multidisciplinary services to improve patient outcomes. Concurrent efforts are needed to create educational and research initiatives, which remain scarce at this stage due to limited resources. It is also important to allocate more financial resources to develop national screening and diagnostic programs and to improve access to advanced therapies for rheumatic diseases in Palestine.