The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) has warned of a rise in mortality among women, children and newborns in Gaza, who are “disproportionately bearing the burden of escalating hostilities in the occupied Palestinian territories” and lack access to health services. Specifically, it ensures that 420 children die or are injured in the Gaza Strip every day.
The UNICEF warning was joined by the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), the United Nations Sexual and Reproductive Health Agency (UNFPA) and the World Health Organization (WHO).
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So far, 2,326 women and 3,760 children have died in the Gaza Strip, accounting for 67% of all casualties, while thousands more have been injured.
Shelling, damaged or dysfunctional health facilities, mass displacement, collapsing water and electricity supplies, and limited access to food and medicine are severely impacting maternal, newborn and child health care.
67% of all victims
So far, 2,326 women and 3,760 children have died in the Gaza Strip
International organizations confirmed that there are an estimated 50,000 pregnant women in Gaza, of whom more than 180 give birth every day. 15% of them are likely to suffer complications related to pregnancy or childbirth and require additional medical care.
Additionally, they found that these women do not have access to the emergency obstetric services they need to give birth safely and care for their newborns. With 14 hospitals and 45 primary care centers closed, some women are having to give birth in shelters, at home, on the streets amid rubble or in crowded health facilities, where hygiene is deteriorating and the risk of infections and complications increases. medical care is increasing.
Thousands of children and women have died in Gaza due to Israeli bombings
Getty Images/Ahmad Hasaballah
Given this situation, Unicef expects an increase in maternal mortality due to the lack of access to appropriate care. The psychological toll of hostilities also has direct – and sometimes fatal – consequences on reproductive health, such as an increase in spontaneous abortions, stillborn babies and stress-related premature births.
Before the escalation, malnutrition among pregnant women was already high, negatively impacting child survival and development. As access to food and water worsens, mothers struggle to feed and provide for their families, increasing the risk of malnutrition, illness and death.
Four-year-old Kenzi al Madhoun, who was injured in an Israeli bomb attack, is in Al-Aqsa Hospital in the city of Deir al Balah in the Gaza Strip
AP / Abdel Kareem Hana
According to Unicef, “the lives of newborns also hang by a thread. “If hospitals run out of fuel, the lives of around 130 premature babies in need of neonatal and intensive care will be at risk as incubators and other medical equipment stop working.”
More than half of Gaza’s population currently lives in United Nations Palestine Refugee Agency (UNRWA) facilities with inadequate water and food supplies, leading to hunger and malnutrition, dehydration and the spread of water-borne diseases.
Lack of water and medicine
UNRWA’s initial survey also recorded 4,600 displaced pregnant women and approximately 380 newborns living in these facilities and in need of medical assistance. More than 22,500 cases of acute respiratory infections and 12,000 cases of diarrhea have already been reported, which is particularly worrying given the high rates of malnutrition.
For all of these reasons, UN agencies sent life-saving medicines and equipment to Gaza, including newborn supplies and reproductive health care. Still, they stressed that “much more is needed to meet the immense needs of the civilian population, including pregnant women, children and newborns.”