Water and sanitation services are on the verge of collapse with the threat of large-scale epidemics, UNICEF warns.
Limited access to clean water and sanitation amid Israel’s continued bombardment poses a serious risk to Gaza’s children, the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) has warned.
Huge masses of displaced people, brought together in the southern Gaza Strip by the war, have access to only 1.5 to 2 liters of water per day, well below the recommended requirements for survival, a the UN agency said on Wednesday. The crisis, compounded by limited aid deliveries and the destruction of infrastructure, puts large numbers of vulnerable children at risk of illness, the statement added.
Driven by Israel’s continued attacks across the enclave, hundreds of thousands of people, around half of them children, have been pushed back to the town of Rafah since early December and are in desperate need of food, water , shelter, medicine and medication. protection, UNICEF said. As demand continues to rise, the city’s water and sanitation systems are in extremely critical condition.
UNICEF says 3 liters are needed daily to survive. The quantity amounts to 15 liters if we also count the water needed for washing and cooking.
“Access to sufficient quantities of clean water is a matter of life and death, and children in Gaza barely have a drop to drink,” said UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russell.
“Children and their families should use water from unsafe, highly salty or polluted sources. Without clean water, many more children will die from deprivation and disease in the coming days.
The use of unsafe water and lack of hygiene pose a “dramatic” risk factor for children, who are more vulnerable to water-borne diseases, dehydration and malnutrition, according to UNICEF.
Humanitarian aid deliveries simply do not meet the basic survival needs of the population. This is causing a shortage of water and hygiene products, further compounded by the fact that a large percentage of sanitation facilities have been destroyed or simply cannot accommodate the large numbers of displaced Palestinians gathering in specific locations .
“We are doing everything we can to meet the needs of the people of Gaza, but the equipment and supplies we have managed to provide are far from enough,” Russell said.
“Constant bombing, as well as restrictions on materials and fuel allowed into the territory, are preventing critical progress. We urgently need these supplies to repair damaged water systems.
Doctors and aid workers have warned of the spread of disease and epidemics since Israel’s “indiscriminate” bombing campaign began after the October 7 Hamas attacks.
According to data from the World Health Organization (WHO), from November 29 to December 10, cases of diarrhea among children under five jumped 66 percent to 59,895 and increased by 55 percent for the rest of the population.
The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said last week that WHO had also reported cases of meningitis, chickenpox, jaundice and upper respiratory infections.
The U.N. health agency warned that the figures were unlikely to give the full picture due to a lack of comprehensive information as Gaza’s health system and other services are on the verge of collapse.