Poor living conditions, constant attacks and lack of access to help have caused serious health problems in minors
MADRID, 26 Nov. (EUROPA PRESS) –
The NGO Doctors Without Borders (MSF) has warned that the arrival of winter in the Gaza Strip can increase the risk of contagion of diseases such as skin and respiratory infections, scabies, acute diarrhea and viral infections, especially among newborns and children. children.
The poor living conditions – with families crowded in tents or under plastic sheets – the constant attacks and the lack of access to help after more than a year of war have caused serious health problems in minors, who will be further aggravated by the drop in temperatures during the winter.
More than 3,400 babies and children under five years of age were treated by MSF medical teams between June and October 2024 in the pediatric area. 22 percent of the total were cases of diarrhea, while almost 9 percent were meningitis.
“We are treating children with infectious, respiratory and skin diseases. Of course, we already saw it before the war, but today we see it much more, and the numbers continue to increase,” said Mohamed abu Tayem, a pediatrician at the NGO who works at the Nasser Hospital, in the south of the Palestinian enclave.
In the same period, almost 170 newborns under one month old and more than 10,800 children between 1 and 5 years old went to the emergency room for upper respiratory tract infections, while 459 cases of pneumonia were recorded in this age group.
The shortage of medical supplies in Gazan health centers and hospitals further aggravates the crisis amid continued overcrowding in hospitals and lack of access to clean water, sanitation or hygiene items in tents.
Population movements expose children to more diseases. Mothers are forced to walk miles and miles along unsafe routes. Many of them arrive at hospitals malnourished and give birth to premature babies, which can lead to an increased risk of postpartum complications.
The reduction in humanitarian aid entering the Palestinian enclave has fundamentally harmed the little ones. MSF detected 314 cases of moderate acute malnutrition and 203 cases of severe acute malnutrition in children under five years of age.
“The lack of nutritious food has had an impact on the health and development of immunity of newborns and children, making them more vulnerable to infectious diseases,” said pediatrician Abu Tayem.
Yasmin, a mother whose son is receiving treatment at Nasser Hospital, has said that she does not have diapers for her son. “I don’t even have suitable clothes for him; I have to use a plastic bag, and this exposes his skin to more infections and rashes,” she lamented.
She spends most of her time in the hospital because her son is “always coughing.” “My son doesn’t laugh, he doesn’t play, he doesn’t drink milk. He sleeps all the time,” she added.
Nasser Hospital has one of the few active maternity units in Gaza. Of the 36 hospitals in the Palestinian enclave, only 17 were still functioning at a partial level as of November 19, according to data from the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).