A Health Ministry tender for new MRI machines announced in August marks a significant success of advocacy efforts by ACRI and partners to promote equality in health through prioritizing medical centers in Israel’s North and South when allocating new medical equipment. Health services in Israel’s periphery are lagging behind those provided for Israelis living in central Israel, resulting in inequality in access to health and quality of services, leaving some of the country’s most vulnerable communities inadequately cared for.
Though the National Health Bill highlights equality in health, the bill sets neither standards nor criteria for implementation of this principle. ACRI and our partners are demanding that health authorities establish clear criteria.
ACRI, Physicians for Human Rights – Israel and the Beersheva women’s group Equality in Health began advocating for a fair allocation of MRI machines after the Health Ministry announced in June 2008 its intentions to allocate five new machines to hospitals in Israel. Were this crucial equipment to be distributed only among hospitals in the center of the country, the organizations cautioned, the already existing gaps in access to health care between center and periphery would only continue to widen. Joint efforts to influence members of Knesset and health officials combined with media exposure and legal work resulted in the implementation of the organizations’ demands.
According to the tender, the Health Ministry will examine bids that include “the improvement of availability and accessibility of the service to the public…according to the criteria of geographic distance from another institution possessing such a machine, and the number of machines in that district”. ACRI is hopeful that the new tender signifies a change that will lead to standardization of criteria ensuring equality.
