The United Nations Office at Geneva
Multimedia Newsroom
Recent access by the World Health Organization (WHO) and partners to hospitals in northern Gaza has starkly revealed severe levels of malnutrition for Palestinians, children dying of starvation, serious shortages of fuel, food and medical supplies, and hospital buildings destroyed.
“We gained access to the north again. … Most of our missions to the north were denied in late January, only three out of 16 were facilitated, in February zero were actually facilitated, and all due to a lack of a proper deconfliction mechanism,” said Dr. Rik Peeperkorn, UN World Health Organization (WHO) Representative for the Occupied Palestinian Territory when briefing reporters at the UN in Geneva.
He noted that their last mission to Al Shifa hospital in northern Gaza was on 22nd of January and that access was granted more recently to other facilities.
“On the 3rd of March, just last weekend, WHO and partners were able to reach Kamal Adwan which is further north, and Al-Awda hospital in northern Gaza. That was the first mission (…) to those hospitals since early October 2023, despite of our many efforts to gain more regular access to the northern Gaza.”
WHO and partners managed to deliver 9,500 litres of fuel to each hospital, and some essential medical supplies - a small fraction of the urgent lifesaving supplies needed. The situation at Al-Awda Hospital is particularly appalling, Dr. Peeperkorn said, as one of the buildings is destroyed. Kamal Adwan Hospital, the only pediatrics hospital in the north of Gaza, is overwhelmed with patients. The lack of electricity poses a serious threat to patient care, especially in critical areas like the intensive care unit and the neonatal unit.
UNICEF spokesperson James Elder addressed the dire consequences for children in these facilities, with many more remaining unaccounted for. “At least ten children have reportedly died because of dehydration and malnutrition in Kamal Adwan Hospital in the northern Gaza Strip, likely many more children fighting for their lives. These deaths are manmade, predictable and entirely preventable.” Many more youngsters will likely die in the coming days unless aid is ramped up without delay, UNICEF warned.
Malnutrition has become an increasingly dire threat in Gaza, particularly among young children, leading to irreversible wasting. Previously, Gaza's self-sufficiency in fish and other food production provided a buffer against such dangers, said Dr. Peeperkorn.“What we see specifically in northern Gaza, 15.6% wasting among children under two (years of age) in northern Gaza. It suggests a serious and rapid decline,” he said. “Such a decline in the population's nutritional status in three months is actually unprecedented globally. Specifically, when you look at what it was before, you talk about 0.7 or 0.8% of children under five are acutely malnourished.”
According to Dr. Peeperkorn, only 12 hospitals are now partially functional - six in the north and six in the south. Twentythree hospitals are not functional at all. Given these dire circumstances, Dr Peeperkorn said that WHO is advocating for a significant ramp up of medical evacuation. “We estimate that 8000 patients should be referred out of Gaza, 6000 related to the war traumas and 2000 general patients.”
Between 7 October and 20 February only 2,203 people have had access to medical treatment outside of Gaza, in spite of offers from Egypt and other countries, including in Europe, to receive and treat a greater number of patients from the battered Gaza health facilities.
-ends-
STORY: Update Gaza Humanitarian situation-WHO, UNICEF
TRT: 2:14”
SOURCE: UNTV CH
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH / NATS
ASPECT RATIO: 16:9
DATELINE: 5 March 2024 GENEVA, SWITZERLAND
SHOTLIST
- Exterior medium shot: UN flag alley at the United Nations Office in Geneva
- Wide shot: Spokespersons at the podium and journalists in Press briefing room
- SOUNDBITE (English) – Rik Peeperkorn, WHO Representative for the OPT (speaking from Jerusalem): “We gained access to the north again. So, to stress that our mission, most of our missions to the north were denied in late January, only three out of 16 were facilitated, in February zero were actually facilitated, and all due to a lack of a proper deconfliction mechanism.”
- Medium shot: Journalists in press room with speaker on screen
- SOUNDBITE (English) – Rik Peeperkorn, WHO Representative for the OPT (speaking from Jerusalem): “Our last mission to Shifa (hospital) was on 22nd of January, on the 3rd of March, just last weekend, WHO and partners were able to reach Kamal Adwan which is further north and Al-Awda hospital in northern Gaza. That was the first mission actually visits to those hospitals since early October 2023, despite of our many efforts to gain more regular access to the northern Gaza.”
- Medium shot: Camerawomen filming with screens behind them
- SOUNDBITE (English) – James Elder, UNICEF’s spokesperson: “At least ten children have reportedly died because of dehydration and malnutrition in Kamal Adwan Hospital in the northern Gaza Strip, likely many more children fighting for their lives. These deaths are manmade, predictable and entirely preventable.”
- Wide shot: Journalists in press room with speaker on screen
- SOUNDBITE (English) – Rik Peeperkorn, WHO Representative for the OPT (speaking from Jerusalem): “What we see specifically in northern Gaza, 15.6% wasting among children under two (years of age) in northern Gaza. It suggests a serious and rapid decline. A such a decline in the population's nutritional status in three months is actually unprecedented globally. Specifically, when you look at what it was before, you talk about 0.7 or 0.8% of children under five are acutely malnourished.”
- Wide shot: Journalists in press briefing with spokespeople at the podium
- SOUNDBITE (English) –
- Wide shot: Journalists in press room with speaker on screen
- Medium shot: Journalists in press room
- Close up: journalists listening
- Close up: journalist listening
Similar Stories
1
1
1
Edited News | UNICEF
A little over one year since a ceasefire agreement was announced between Hamas fighters and Israel, more than 340 children have been reported killed and hundreds more injured, the UN Children’s Fund, UNICEF, said on Friday.
1
1
1
Edited News | UNICEF , IFRC
Six weeks after Nepal’s deadly flooding disaster, communities are still struggling to rebuild their lives, but they will need sustained help as global warming increases the risk of another Himalayan catastrophe, the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) said on Friday.
1
1
1
Edited News | WHO
In suspected Russia plague death, testing and monitoring underway – WHO
The death of a lab worker in Russia’s Siberia region has sparked concerns about plague being the cause, the UN World Health Organization (WHO) said on Tuesday, adding that it was following the situation closely.
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG
UN Human Rights Chief Volker Türk on Friday provided and oral update to the 63rd session of the Human rights Council on Ukraine.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG
UN Human Rights Chief Volker Türk on Friday provided and oral update to the 63rd session of the Human rights Council on the human rights situation in Haiti.
1
1
1
Edited News | WHO
Repeated delays in bringing lifesaving medicines, prosthetics and more from Israel into Gaza risk having devastating consequences on Palestinians who urgently need them in the wartorn enclave, the UN World Health Organization (WHO) said on Friday. “A truck full of non-priority supplies or the right supplies arriving too late, doesn't save lives. That's the question that actually matters," said Dr Reinhilde Van De Weerdt, WHO Representative in the OPT.
1
1
1
Edited News | WHO
DRC: Early access to care and oxygen decisive for Ebola patients’ survival – WHO
In the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), health workers fighting the country’s largest-ever Ebola outbreak are struggling to overcome critical challenges to patient care, the UN World Health Organization (WHO) warned on Tuesday.
1
1
1
Edited News | OCHA , UN
Civilians in Iran are continuing to feel the consequences of months of conflict and military escalation, the UN’s top official in the country has said, as loss of life, damage to civilian infrastructure and mounting economic pressures leave many facing continued uncertainty.
1
1
1
Edited News | WHO , UNICEF
Aid agencies in Yemen highlighted the growing hunger emergency sparked by renewed fighting between Houthi opposition forces and Government troops, after mobile health clinics reported that hundreds of children displaced by the violence are suffering from the most deadly form of malnutrition.
1
1
1
Edited News | UNHCR
Displacement on the rise in Yemen as fighting continues - UNHCR
As hostilities worsen in Yemen, more people have been fleeing their homes, further intensifying the humanitarian crisis within the region, the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) warned on Tuesday.
1
1
1
Edited News | IOM , OHCHR , UNFPA , UNOG , UNHCR , WHO
Yemen’s humanitarian crisis growing by the hour amid spike in displacement
Yemenis displaced by renewed fighting have described fleeing for their lives amid shelling and gunfire, aid agencies reported on Friday, while highlighting the dramatic increase in humanitarian needs in the country and in Djibouti, where thousands have sought shelter.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG
The UN Human Rights Office issued on Friday a report documenting a shocking pattern of sexual violence amid Russia’s full-scale armed attack on Ukraine.