World Health Organization (WHO) Spokesperson Christian Lindmeier answered the questions of an AA correspondent regarding the current state of the health situation in Gaza, where Israel has been carrying out attacks and blockading since October 2023.
Lindmeier stated that, in general terms, there is a functioning health system in the Gaza Strip that includes many areas of expertise and only a very small number of people need to be referred outside for treatments that require advanced expertise, and said:
"Gaza has gone from a system with a high proportion of trained nurses and doctors, where educational services are widely available, and with high vaccination rates, for example, over 90 percent, to a healthcare system that is essentially bankrupt today. There are currently approximately 2.1 million people in need of assistance. Only 19 out of 36 hospitals can provide partial service. The others are completely disabled. Therefore, there is currently no fully functioning hospital in Gaza."
Lindmeier stated that there is only 3 thousand bed capacity for 2.1 million people in need of assistance, and there are approximately 100 intensive care beds available.
Pointing out that there is a maternity ward capacity of approximately 120 beds, Lindmeier said, "As a result, the system is bankrupt, and this is really sad because Gaza once had a well-functioning health system." he said.
Lindmeier said that they could not get the help they needed to patients, children, mothers, fathers and essentially anyone in Gaza.
Pointing out that there are multiple problems in delivering aid, Lindmeier said:
"First of all, there is a destroyed system and roads, as well as blockages in the approval process. Currently, it takes an average of 74 days, that is, 2.5 months, for a shipment to be approved (by Israel). Even after approval, the shipment needs to be loaded, crossed the border, delivered to Gaza, and from there transported to the needed areas. If the approval is not obtained, we have to start the process from the beginning. In other words, we need an average of 74 days to make a second attempt for the same approval."
Lindmeier emphasized that the approval process of small drug packages takes less time and the rejection rate is lower, and that the entry of larger devices and laboratory equipment is either almost never approved or the approval process takes too long.
Spokesperson Lindmeier said, "If you do not have laboratory equipment, you cannot detect the disease. You cannot test and determine whether an epidemic or disease spread has begun. Imaging may be required for situations such as a broken bone or internal bleeding. If you do not have a working device, the patient may suffer or even die due to a problem that can be easily solved with a simple intervention outside Gaza. This is the biggest problem." he said.
Lindmeier noted that the number of trucks and containers that can enter Gaza is taken into account, but little attention is paid to who they actually reach, emphasizing that the delayed arrival of medical devices or spare parts causes hundreds of people to lose their lives unnecessarily, and this is absolutely unacceptable.
Pointing out that there are obstacles such as destroyed roads, checkpoints and ongoing attacks in front of aid trucks reaching the final point even after entering Gaza, Lindmeier said that even if the aid has entered Gaza, it does not mean that they have reached the patient yet.
Lindmeier noted that the fuel shortage in Gaza affects the healthcare system and stated that, first of all, ambulances need fuel to fulfill their duties.
"Gaza meets its energy needs entirely based on generators, that is, backup power sources."
Reminding that power lines were cut at a very early stage of the conflict, Lindmeier made the following assessment:
"Gaza meets its energy needs entirely based on generators, that is, backup power sources. A hospital needs a large amount of fuel to maintain its daily operation, that is, to run operating rooms, delivery rooms and imaging devices, to illuminate the buildings and to enable doctors to perform surgeries under real lighting, not with a headlamp. If you do not have fuel, you cannot run these systems."
Lindmeier noted that when there is no fuel in Gaza, clean water is not available and many needed tools cannot be operated.
Pointing out that one of the bottlenecks in Gaza is medical evacuations, Lindmeier stated that approximately 14 thousand patients have been evacuated since October 2023 and thanked everyone who made this possible.
Lindmeier said, "There are still thousands of people waiting to be evacuated and have been waiting for a long time. Moreover, some patients in critical condition cannot be evacuated." he said.
Pointing out the difficulty of rebuilding the health system in Gaza, Lindmeier said, "Even if peace is achieved tomorrow and we start work tomorrow, it will take years for everything to be in order again." he said.
