JENIN (Ma’an) -- Thirty-one Palestinians have died of H1N1 in the Palestinian territory in the latest outbreak of the disease, while about 4,500 were infected but recovered, says the PA Minister of Health.

Hani Abdeen told Ma’an Thursday that his ministry carried out a broad vaccination campaign across the Palestinian territory.

More than 50,000 children and chronic disease patients have been inoculated in an attempt to reduce mortality and rates of infections. Abdeen added that his ministry implemented awareness-raising campaigns across Palestine through local media to inform the public about the best prevention methods.

The minister highlighted that $30-35 million is spent every year to cover treatment of cancer patients outside Palestine, namely in Jordan and Israel. This amount, he said, is equal 27 percent of the ministry’s budget.

Asked why the Palestinian government did not build a specialized cancer hospital in Palestine, Abdeen said there was a shortage of cancer specialists in Palestine, especially pediatric cancer.

“Despite that, we started to develop three centers for treating cancer patients including Augusta Victoria Hospital in Jerusalem, Beit Jala Hospital in Bethlehem, and the National Hospital in Nablus. We are also expecting al-Najah University educational hospital to be inaugurated later in March.”