Among 651,720 beneficiaries screened during 2021, five percent (32,531 beneficiaries) were registered to have a disability. While the highest percentage among refugees was in Jordan, the highest number of disabled persons is in the Gaza Strip due to the ongoing cycle of violence and aggression carried out by Israel against the Palestinian people living there. Table 2.11: Number and Percentage of Patients Identified with Disability at UNRWA Health Centers, End of 2021 UNRWA fields of operations Female No. Male % No. Total % No. % Jordan 2,772 8 1,440 13 4,212 9.7 Lebanon 1,062 3 720 4 1,782 3.6 Syria 1,713 5 1,451 10 3,164 6.6 West Bank 3,867 4 2,310 5 6,177 4.6 Gaza Strip 10,571 4 6,625 5 17,196 4.6 Total 19,985 5 12,546 6 32,531 5.0 303 Medical Aid for Palestinians, ‘Interview: How Lebanon’s economic collapse is compounding pandemic woes for Palestinian refugees’ (MAP, 20 April 2021) <https://www.map.org.uk/news/archive/post/1219-interview-howlebanonas-economic-collapse-is-compounding-pandemic-woes-for-palestinian-refugees-> accessed 3 October 2022. 304 Palestinian Association for Human Rights (Witness), ‘How did the economic crisis in Lebanon affect health care services for Palestinian refugees?’ (Witness, 3 June 2022) <https://bit.ly/3TqTAJB>; Witness, ‘The Lebanese crisis and its serious repercussions on the economic and social reality of Palestinian refugees in Lebanon’ (2021) <https:// bit.ly/3UP3Z3a> accessed 3 October 2022. 305 Ibid. 63 Chapter The financial and economic crisis in Lebanon, compounded with UNRWA’s funding shortage, has had a detrimental effect on Palestinian refugees’ access to health care. Hospitals in Lebanon have generally confronted a shortage of staff, doctors, nurses, and medicine due to hyperinflation and emigration of health professionals. 303 This has impacted Palestinian refugees as UNRWA cooperates with governmental and private hospitals to complement its services at its health centers. Additionally, UNRWA’s health services to Palestinian refugees has declined in the past several years due to budgeting constraints. The Agency has also decreased its coverage to 50 percent of treatment for patients with acute diseases, including cancer, and 60 percent of hospitalization for patients with other diseases. 304 The increase in hospitalization costs, surgeries, and medicine due to the country’s economic crisis has left Palestinian refugees unable to cover their portion of the treatments, and have thus been forced to remain untreated. 305 2 The Impact of the Current Crisis in Lebanon on Palestinian Refugees’ Access to Health Services