Restoring the health system in the Gaza Strip will be ‘a complex and difficult task’ after more than 15 months of war, the Director-General of the World Health Organisation (WHO), Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, warned on Sunday.
‘Meeting the enormous health needs and restoring the health system in Gaza will be a complex and difficult task, given the scale of the destruction, the operational complexity and the constraints involved,’ Mr Tedros wrote on X.
The WHO ‘calls on all parties to respect their commitment to fully implement the ceasefire agreement and to continue to work towards a lasting peace’, he added.
The WHO recently estimated that it would cost more than 10 billion dollars to restore the health system in the Palestinian territory, which has been bombarded relentlessly by the Israeli army since the attacks by the Islamist movement Hamas on 7 October 2023.
According to the WHO, only half of Gaza's 36 hospitals remain partially operational, and only 38% of primary care centres are in working order.
The WHO and its partners intend to implement a 60-day plan, which will focus on trauma and emergency care, primary health care, child health, non-communicable diseases, sexual and reproductive health and rights, rehabilitation, mental health and psychosocial support.
Field hospitals are also due to be dispatched in the coming weeks.
With AFP.
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