WHO Director-General's remarks at Meeting of the United Nations Security Council on the situation of the health system in Gaza – 6 November 2024

Madame President,

Excellencies,

Thank you for this opportunity to brief you on the health situation in Gaza.

When I last briefed you almost exactly 12 months ago, the conflict in Gaza was just a few weeks old. Already at that time, almost 11 thousand people had been killed, and 27 thousand injured. It was hard to imagine the situation could be any worse. But 12 months later, it is.

And what have those 12 months of war brought? Nothing but death, disease, destruction and displacement.

More than 43 thousand people have now been killed in Gaza, and more than 10 thousand are missing, most of them probably buried under the rubble.

On top of that, more than 102 thousand people have suffered injuries including head and spinal cord injuries, major burns and injuries requiring amputation.

Northern Gaza has been under siege for almost a month, denied basic aid and life-saving supplies, while bombardment and other attacks continue.

Humanitarian access to deliver medical supplies, food and fuel for hospital generators remains almost impossible.

Since March this year, the percentage of humanitarian missions Israel has fully facilitated has halved, from 72% to just 36% in October. The rest are either denied or impeded.

Since the conflict began, WHO has verified 516 attacks on health facilities and medical transport in Gaza, resulting in 765 deaths and almost 1000 injuries.

Attacks on health care deprive people of lifesaving health services at the time they need them most. That's why attacks on health care are prohibited in humanitarian law.

94% of all health facilities in Gaza are either damaged or destroyed;

Only 17 out of 36 hospitals with inpatient capacity are even partially functional;

And 85% of water and sanitation facilities are out of service.

You can imagine what the consequences are for the physical and mental health of the people of Gaza. War and disease are old friends.

Almost the entire population of Gaza faces high levels of food insecurity, and 60 thousand children under five are estimated to have acute malnutrition.

Every day, hundreds of women give birth in traumatic, unhygienic and undignified conditions;

Nine in ten children under five are affected by one or more infectious diseases;

1.2 million children need mental health and psychosocial support for depression, anxiety and suicidal thoughts;

Last week, more than 11 thousand cases of acute respiratory infections were reported, as well as increasing cases of acute jaundice and bloody diarrhea.

The situation could become even worse as winter closes in. The makeshift and overcrowded accommodation in which most people are living exposes them to conditions that increase the risk of respiratory and other disease.

WHO estimates that up to 14 thousand patients need to be evacuated out of Gaza to receive urgent, specialized care. Since the conflict began, only one in three requests for medical evacuation have been granted.

And as you know, we have seen a resurgence of polio, which has not been seen in Gaza for more than 25 years.

To respond to this outbreak, WHO and a coalition of partners have conducted a vaccination campaign aimed at immunizing almost 600 thousand children under the age of 10.

This past Saturday, the campaign resumed in northern Gaza after being postponed due to intense bombardments, mass displacements, and restricted access.

In total, more than 105 thousand children have now been vaccinated in northern Gaza, although almost 14 thousand children could not be reached due to insecurity.

Even though assurance had been given of a humanitarian pause, the Sheikh Radwan primary health centre was struck while parents were bringing their children to be vaccinated. Six people were injured, including four children.

WHO and our 69 health cluster partners are doing our best to support Gaza's health system and health workers.

Eleven field hospitals have been established, and 15 Emergency Medical Teams, comprised of international medical professionals, are currently deployed across the Gaza Strip, providing services including surgery, treatment for noncommunicable diseases, and mental health and psychosocial support.

The fact that Gaza's health system is functioning at all is testament to the resilience of its health workers, and the solidarity of international partners.

But at the very time when the health system needs to be supported, one of the legs on which it stands is being kicked out from underneath it.

The decision by Israel's Knesset to ban UNRWA will eliminate one of the largest providers of essential health services in Gaza.

Every day, UNRWA provides thousands of medical consultations, vaccinates hundreds of children, provides maternal and child care, and so much more.

One third of the polio vaccinators were UNRWA staff.

Nearly 1.9 million displaced people rely on UNRWA, and 1.6 million Palestinians receive health care through its clinics and medical points.

Many humanitarian partners rely on UNRWA's logistical networks to get supplies into Gaza and onward to where they are needed.

The UNRWA staff that WHO works with are dedicated health and humanitarian professionals who work tirelessly for their communities under unimaginable circumstances.

This ban will not make the people of Israel safer, it will only deepen the suffering of the people of Gaza, deprive them of essential health services and increase the risk of disease outbreaks.

There is simply no alternative to UNRWA. No other agency can match its scale. I know the Commissioner General is addressing the General Assembly today, and I hope Member States, who established UNRWA 75 years ago, will act to preserve its mandate.

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Excellencies, colleagues,

WHO calls for unfettered access for humanitarian aid;

We call for health care to be protected, and not attacked or militarized, in accordance with international humanitarian law;

We call for multiple medical evacuation corridors to be established, including through the Rafah and Kerem Shalom crossings.

We call on Israel to reverse its decision to ban UNRWA, and we call on Israel's allies to make the same demand;

We call on Hamas to release the hostages it is still holding in Gaza;

And most of all, we call for a ceasefire, a political solution, and peace.

Even after the bombs stop falling and the guns fall silent, whenever that may be, the damage to the physical and mental health of the people of Gaza will endure for years.

WHO and our partners are doing everything we can - everything Israel allows us to do - to support them.

But what they need more than the aid we provide is peace.

The best medicine is peace.

I thank you.

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