22 November 2023 – Thank you for joining us today for our regional update on the health emergencies in the occupied Palestinian territory and Sudan.
Before I begin my remarks, I’d like to take a moment to remember Dima Alhaj, our young WHO colleague who was tragically killed yesterday when her parents’ home was bombed. Dima’s husband, 6-month-old baby boy and more than 50 other family members who had been sheltering together were also killed in the bombing. Dima joined WHO in 2019 as part of the WHO-supported trauma team at the Gaza Strip’s Limb Reconstruction Centre. We are all devastated by this shocking news and extend our deepest condolences to Dima’s remaining family and to her friends and colleagues.
As we grieve the shocking loss of Dima and her family, we are reminded of the senseless nature of this conflict. We are reminded that in Gaza today, nowhere is safe for civilians, including our own colleagues and other members of the United Nations family. Civilians are losing their lives in their homes, in camps and shelters, in schools and even while receiving care in hospitals.
The death and maiming of innocent civilians, more than half of whom are women and children, must stop. They have done nothing to deserve the unimaginable hardships they are now being forced to endure. The bedrock principles of the laws of war, such as proportionality, distinction and precaution, are being flaunted by both sides.Health facilities, schools, family homes, and places of refuge have been attacked by both sides.We cannot allow the sense of our common humanity to be eroded any further.
While we are encouraged by the announcement overnight of a temporary ceasefire associated with hostage and prisoner release, what the peoples of the occupied Palestinian territory and Israel need is a sustained ceasefire.What we need is the leaders and fighting forces of both sides to put the health and welfare of their people first.
In the Gaza Strip today, people are being denied food, safe water, health care, shelter and protection. Almost three quarters of the Gaza Strip’s entire population has been internally displaced, often moving multiple times to escape active conflict.
Even hospitals – which should be the safest of havens – are not protected from these horrors. WHO has documented 178 attacks on health care in the Gaza Strip, which have resulted in 553 fatalities and 696 casualties, including 22 fatalities and 48 injuries of health workers on duty. The attacks have affected 44 health facilities, including 24 hospitals damaged, and affected 40 ambulances, including 32 which sustained damage.
As health facilities shut down due to conflict or lack of resources, our ability to provide health care to the population is plummeting, while the health needs are soaring. The choking of supply lines of medicines and medical supplies, lack of fuel and safe water, damage to infrastructure and loss of staff have forced the shutdown of 27 out of 36 hospitals, 2 specialty centres, and 47 out of 72 primary health care clinics in the Gaza Strip.
The few hospitals that remain open are only partially functional and are under massive strain, providing only limited emergency services, which leaves thousands of people without access to life-saving health care and vulnerable to preventable diseases. Premature babies are dying as life-support systems shut down. Cancer patients, those with kidney and cardiovascular diseases, and people with diabetes face massive risks due to interrupted treatments. Without access to safe water, safe disposal of sanitation and proper hygiene, people living in overcrowded settings are increasingly exposed to infectious diseases, and the risks of outbreaks is escalating.We are seeing increased rates of diarrhoea, respiratory infections, jaundice, skin infections and vaccine-preventable childhood diseases, including measles.
We have done everything we can to reach the people of the Gaza Strip with the life-saving health care they desperately need. But this political conflict requires a political solution. Deliveries of additional humanitarian aid need to be at much greater levels than they have been so far. Hospitals must be allowed to replenish the resources they need to continue functioning. And the fighting needs to stop so that we can quickly scale up our response inside Gaza without risk. We cannot keep providing drops of aid in an ocean of needs.
We urgently call – again – for an end to the conflict; for protection of health workers, patients and health facilities; for the unconditional release of hostages; and for unimpeded, sustained access for life-saving health aid into the Gaza Strip.
As the world’s eyes focus on the catastrophe unfolding in Gaza, WHO is also working to respond to another humanitarian catastrophe in Sudan, where 7 months of widespread violence has had a deadly impact on the lives, livelihoods and health of the people.
Sudan – one of the most forgotten crises in the world – is now facing the largest internal displacement crisis globally, with 6.3 million people (more than 12% of the total population) newly displaced since 15 April 2023. Almost 1.4 million of these people have been displaced into neighbouring countries as refugees.
Armed conflict and insecurity, attacks on health care, and shortages of health workers and health supplies have forced 80% of health facilities in conflict-affected areas to shut down, straining the country’s health system to its limits and denying the Sudanese people of their right to health care. Facilities that remain functional are overwhelmed by the influx of people seeking care, many of whom are internally displaced.
Since the start of the war, WHO has verified 60 attacks on health care, resulting in 34 deaths and 38 injuries.
More than 42% of the entire country’s population has fallen into high levels of acute food insecurity, and 3.4 million children aged under 5 years – that’s 1 in every 7 children – are acutely malnourished, with over 690 000 children severely malnourished.
One of our biggest concerns is the rapidly spreading cholera outbreak.Since the declaration of a cholera outbreak in Gedaref state on 26 September, 7 other states are reporting suspected cases of cholera. Cases of dengue, measles and malaria are also being reported across the country.
The situation in Darfur is our gravest concern. High levels of violence, forced displacement, widespread gender-based violence and limited access for the delivery of aid have resulted in unfathomable levels of humanitarian need.Many hospitals are reportedly inaccessible, and insecurity prevents humanitarian aid from being safely delivered.Hence, we are scaling up our cross-border assistance from Chad into Darfur, with WHO this week committing $2.5million of our own finances to support these activities. But we need the support of our donors to ensure a sustained and reliable humanitarian response.
WHO stands with the people of Sudan and is staying and delivering despite enormous challenges. We are actively coordinating with partners, establishing mobile clinics, enhancing surveillance and distributing essential medicines. We are currently supporting the Oral Cholera Vaccine campaign in Gedaref and Al Gezira states, targeting over 2.2 million people aged 1 year and older.
The Eastern Mediterranean Region – long plagued by some of the world’s biggest emergencies – needs peace and unwavering support. As a humanitarian organization, we call on all political leaders and fighting parties to put an end to the unnecessary loss of lives and suffering of innocent civilians. And we call on the political leaders of the world to use their voices to make this happen. The time is now well overdue forthe world to come together for the greater good.
