National Health Authority

The National Health Authority (NHA; Arabic: سلطة الصحة الوطنية sulṭat aṣ-ṣaḥah al-waṭanīyah) is an agency of the Arab Union federal government directly subordinate to the Ministry of Health. It is responsible for operating the nation's universal healthcare system; from emergency/trauma centres and women's and children's hospitals to primary care youth clinics and drug & alcohol treatment centres, virtually all healthcare facilities and programs and related infrastructure is owned and operated by the NHA. Healthcare-related programs administered by separate agencies of the Ministry of Health are generally limited to food safety and drug regulation, research & development activities, accreditation of institutions and licensing of healthcare professionals, and administration of the single-payer system which funds the NHA and other Ministry of Health agencies.

As of June 2020, over 95% of all major hospitals and over 90% of all other hospitals, clinics and treatment programs were operated directly by the NHA; the remainder is accounted for by facilities and programs operated by non-profit organizations, mostly charities and/or religious groups, which still receive public funding through the single-payer system and thus do not charge for any of their services (for-profit organisations are prohibited in most aspects of public health, a notable exception being research & development and pharmacy).

Dr. Munzer el-Ashhab has served as Chairman of the National Health Authority since September 2013. While the NHA has as major office within the Ministry of Health headquarters in Ibrahimia, the NHA's central headquarters are located in Ramallah, Palestinian Arab Republic, due to the proximity of the All-Union University's Faculty of Medicine (the most prestigious medical school in the Arab Union), which is headquartered at the university's Ramallah campus.