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After failing to find work, many Gazan medical professionals 'lease' their degrees to others

Haunted by a skyrocketing unemployment rate, medical graduates in the Gaza Strip are leasing their degrees to businessmen to make a living.
Palestinian doctors wear face masks at the reception of al-Shifa hospital in Gaza City December 6, 2009. H1N1 swine flu has finally reached the Gaza Strip, the health ministry said on Sunday, worrying Palestinians who had credited Israel's blockade of the territory with keeping the virus at bay. REUTERS/Mohammed Salem (GAZA POLITICS HEALTH) - RTXRJIC
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GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip — Escalating unemployment rates, poverty and the lack of job opportunities in the Gaza Strip are pushing college graduates with medical-related degrees to "lease" them to would-be business owners or investors.

Leasing the degrees, in fields such as optometry, laboratory medicine and pharmacology, provides income for graduates crippled by unemployment and those who don't have enough money to open their own medical facilities. There is a strong demand for these degrees among people seeking to invest in the medical field who don't have the necessary qualifications and certifications.

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