“People in Gaza are facing another danger: Hepatitis A is spreading, including among children,” said Philippe Lazzarini, head of the UN agency assisting Palestinian refugees. UNRWA, Written on social media.
Since the war broke out last October, UNRWA shelters and clinics have reported 40,000 cases of the disease, compared with just 85 in the same period before the conflict broke out, representing “a frightening increase”, he said.
Hepatitis A is an inflammation of the liver caused by a virus of the same name, transmitted through contaminated food or water or direct contact with an infected person.
The accumulation of waste is causing health hazards in Gaza.
Ideal conditions for disease
“Gaza’s waste management system has collapsed. Piles of garbage are accumulating in the scorching summer heat. Sewage is dumped on the streets while people queue for hours just to use the toilet,” Lazzarini said. Combined, they “create a dangerous recipe for spreading disease.”
Humanitarian organizations are also preparing for the worst-case scenario of a polio outbreak following the recent discovery of disease in wastewater samples.
World Health Organization (WHO) said earlier this week that while efforts are underway to get vaccines, simply getting them across the border is not enough.
WHO calls for a ceasefire and at least clear roads and ensure safety so partners can reach everyone in Gaza to administer needed vaccines.
Barriers to access
Meanwhile, humanitarian organizations continue to face obstacles in delivering aid, including persistent hostilities, unexploded ordnance, damaged and impassable roads, attacks on aid convoys, lack of public order and safety, and insufficient border crossings.
Israeli authorities also continue to impose restrictions on the entry of some humanitarian aid into the enclave.
“These factors continue to significantly impede the delivery of aid into Gaza and the delivery of aid and basic services to hundreds of thousands of people across the Gaza Strip,” the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), speak.
In July, Israel only facilitated 67 of 157 planned aid missions to northern Gaza. Others were “either refused, hindered or cancelled for security, logistical or operational reasons,” OCHA added.
‘Tragic and devastating milestone’
This week marks “a tragic and devastating milestone” for UNRWA as the number of staff killed since the war began rises to 202, Mr Lazzarini said. speak in a statement on Monday.
This is the largest number of UN staff killed in a conflict since the Organization was founded in 1945.
He said these sacrificed colleagues were teachers, doctors, nurses, social workers, engineers, support staff, logistics staff, technology and communications staff.
Most were “killed while at home with their families or in places they thought were safe”, while some died in the line of duty, providing humanitarian assistance to those in need.
“I echo the Secretary-General’s call: the United Nations will spare no effort to hold accountable the deaths of our staff,” he said.
“In the coming weeks, we will find many opportunities to remember our fallen colleagues.”
