Following the declaration of ceasefire in the 15 month war in Gaza, the World Health Organization (WHO) has hinted that immense challenges lie ahead to restore the health system.
WHO in a statement on Sunday noted that the entire population of Gaza had faced multiple displacements.
“More than 46 600 people have been killed and over 110 000 have been injured. The real figures are likely much higher. Only half of Gaza’s 36 hospitals remain partially operational, nearly all hospitals are damaged or partly destroyed, and just 38% of primary health care centres are functional.
“An estimated 25% of those injured – around 30 000 people – face life-changing injuries and will need ongoing rehabilitation”, the Global Health Body said.
It further informed that specialized health care was largely unavailable and medical evacuations abroad were extremely slow. Also, transmission of infectious diseases had massively increased, malnutrition was rising, and the risk of famine persists.
WHO noted that addressing the massive needs and restoring the health system would be an extremely complex and challenging task, given the scale of destruction, operational complexity and constraints involved. Billions in investment were needed to support recovery of the health system, which will require the unwavering commitment of donors and the international community.
“WHO is ready to scale up the response together with UN health partners including UNFPA, UNICEF, UNRWA and 67 Health Cluster partners. However, it is critical that the security obstacles hindering operations are removed.
“WHO will need conditions on the ground that allow systematic access to the population across Gaza, enabling the influx of aid via all possible borders and routes, and lifting restrictions on the entry of essential items.
“Also essential are active protection of civilians and health-care workers, expediting medical evacuations through all possible routes for over 12 000 patients (and their companions) who urgently require specialized care, strengthening and speeding up the referral system to East Jerusalem and the West Bank, and addressing road repairs, rubble removal, and the remediation of unexploded ordnances”, it said.
Furthermore, the statement informed that WHO and partners would need a massive scale-up of funding to meet immediate health needs, and to begin to restore the health system, including the workforce, supply chain and infrastructure.
“WHO and partners will implement a 60-day plan to support the urgent restoration and expansion of the health system. Focus will be on key priority response areas, including trauma and emergency care, comprehensive primary health care, child health, noncommunicable diseases (NCDs), sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR), rehabilitation, mental health and psychosocial support (MHPSS)”, it said.
In addition, the statement disclosed that, given the immense needs, WHO was scaling up operations and mobilizing critical supplies and resources for delivery into Gaza. A priority will be the assessment and rehabilitation of partially damaged health facilities in high-need areas.
“Work is ongoing to urgently increase bed capacity across selected hospitals in northern and southern Gaza, together with the expansion of operational capacities, supporting the hiring and redistribution of national health workers, and increasing deployment of international health workers to fill gaps. Plans are underway to integrate prefabricated clinics and hospitals with existing health facilities to enhance service delivery in underserved and newly accessible areas.
“Efforts also are underway to strengthen referral processes for critical care within Gaza and facilitate cross-border medical evacuations. Given the high level of malnutrition and disease outbreaks, WHO is working with partners to expand infant and young child feeding programmes, enhance immunization efforts and reinforce disease surveillance systems for timely prevention, reporting, and outbreak management”, it said.
WHO therefore calls on all parties to uphold their commitment to fully implement the ceasefire agreement and to continue working towards a political solution to address the protracted crisis in the occupied Palestinian territory, which is essential for lasting peace.
