| No images? Click here  14 February 2024 POST PRESSER NOTES 14 February Virtual Press Conference on the health situation in Gaza Please find below notes from the virtual press conference held today, 14 February 2024 at WHO on the Health Situation in Gaza. We apologize for the poor sound quality at today´s briefing due to the bad connectivity in Gaza. Therefore, we are only sending written notes while audio file is available on demand. Dr Rik Peeperkorn, WHO Representative, occupied Palestinian territory All eyes on Rafah As the war enters its fifth month, WHO is deeply concerned about the unfathomable catastrophe that the potential expansion of military operations could cause in Rafah. Currently, 1.5 million people are crammed there with nowhere safe to go. Fear and panic grip the community, evident on everyone’s face. Everywhere our team goes, people have the same two questions: what can we do, and where do we go? We warn that a new wave of displacement and additional injuries will have dire consequences on people’s health and mental wellbeing and increase the trauma burden on the already ailing health system - pushing it closer to the brink of collapse. Currently, there are only three partially functional hospitals in Rafah, supplemented by three field hospitals, totaling just 450 beds. This number pales in comparison to the needs. The hospitals are overwhelmed, overflowing, and undersupplied. Health workers are exhausted, many cut off from their families. Some say their families only receive updates about their safety from the news. Shrinking humanitarian space Repeated access restrictions and denials continue to obstruct the delivery of crucially needed humanitarian aid to the people of Gaza. WHO and the UN are ready to deliver, but we need sustained access and safety guarantees. Without these, humanitarian operations, already struggling to stay afloat, could grind to a halt. Since November to 9 January, around 40% of WHO missions to the north have been facilitated. The rest have been denied, impeded, or postponed. About 45% have been facilitated to the south. Even if an immediate ceasefire is not reached, humanitarian corridors are urgently needed to continue providing vital aid. Health Attacks Ongoing attacks on health care are compounding the crisis. Since 7 Oct WHO has documented 378 attacks in the Gaza Strip. Around 70 health workers remain in detention. WHO is deeply concerned about their safety and wellbeing. The evolving situation at Nasser Medical Complex is alarming. The hospital is reportedly besieged since 6 February and at least ten civilians have been killed. The hospital’s northern gate has been demolished and its supplies and equipment warehouses have been destroyed due to hostilities. Civilians sheltering at the hospital have been asked to evacuate. Around 402 patients are reportedly present inside. Access to the hospital remains obstructed — there is no safe corridor for those in need. Two WHO missions have been denied in the last four days and we have lost touch with the hospital’s personnel. Our last visit to Nasser was on 29 January. We have seen before how depriving hospitals of resources and access could halt lifesaving services. Nasser is the backbone of the health system in southern Gaza. It must be protected. Humanitarian access must be allowed. Hospitals must be safeguarded so that they can serve their life-saving function. They must not be militarized or attacked. Health Systems Functionality Only 11 hospitals are partially functional (5 in north, 6 in south), 3 minimally functional and 22 not functional. All hospitals lack supplies. At European Gaza hospital our team met a 7-year-old girl in need of medical evacuation. She was suffering from 75% burns, unable to receive pain relief due to unavailability of morphine and analgesics at the hospital. At Al Aqsa hospital 20-30% of the patients were unable to be discharged as they had no safe place to go. Health workers also informed our team that many patients have undergone unnecessary amputations as they cannot be referred for specialized surgeries outside Gaza. According to the Ministry of Health, at least 1500 amputations have been performed in Gaza since the start of the war. An orderly, safe and sustained transfer of patients to Egypt and possibly to other locations via Egypt is needed. WHO estimates that more than 8000 people need medical referrals outside Gaza – 6000 related to war injuries and 2000 linked to other medical conditions. Since the start of the war, only 1243 patients have been medically referred outside Gaza (798 injured and 445 sick), in addition to 1025 companions. ////// Comments on Rafah situation, Dr Rik Peeperkorn, WHO Representative, occupied Palestinian territory https://who.canto.global/b/HDLBO Please also see this link for Rafah photos: https://photos.emro.who.int/galleries/444/internally-displaced-palestinians-sheltering-in-ra
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