United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs

Decades of underfunding, blockade have weakened Gaza's health system − the siege has pushed it into abject crisis

Retrieved on: 
Wednesday, October 18, 2023

On Oct. 17, 2023, news broke that at least 500 patients, staff and people seeking shelter from Israeli bombs had been killed in an explosion at a hospital, according to health authorities in the Hamas-run enclave.

Key Points: 
  • On Oct. 17, 2023, news broke that at least 500 patients, staff and people seeking shelter from Israeli bombs had been killed in an explosion at a hospital, according to health authorities in the Hamas-run enclave.
  • It amounts to a devastating loss of life during a campaign of bombing that has not spared the frail or sick.
  • Insufficiently and poorly resourced for decades, doctors and hospitals also had to contend with the devastating effects of a 16-year blockade imposed by Israel, in part with coordination with Egypt.

A system completely overwhelmed

    • Hospitals in Gaza are completely overwhelmed.
    • They are seeing around 1,000 new patients per day, in a health system with only 2,500 hospital beds for a population of over 2 million people.
    • People maimed in the bombing are being treated for horrific injuries without basics such as gauze dressings, antiseptic, IV bags and painkillers.
    • The U.N. estimates this fuel will run out any day due to a complete siege placed on Gaza by Israel.

A century of underfunding

    • But Gaza’s health care system was already under stress before the latest bombardment.
    • In fact, policies that stretch back decades have left it unable to meet even the basic health needs of Gaza’s residents, let alone respond to the ongoing humanitarian catastrophe.
    • What each have had in common is that, from my perspective as a global health expert, they invested little in Palestinian health.
    • For periods of the 20th century, the health priorities of successive governing bodies appeared focused more on reducing the spread of communicable disease to protect foreigners interacting with the native Palestinian population.

Dying before they can leave

    • Since then, chronic underfunding of public hospitals has meant that Palestinians in Gaza have remained reliant on outside money and nongovernmental organizations for essential health services.
    • During the passage of the Oslo Accords in the mid-1990s, the Palestinian Authority was established to administer services in the occupied territories.
    • The Palestinian Authority received a significant influx of humanitarian aid as it took on civil responsibilities, including health.
    • As a result, health indicators for Palestinians, including life expectancy and immunization rates, started to improve in the late 1990s.

Gaza health services after the siege

    • This vulnerable health system is now facing unprecedented challenges, staffed by health professionals who have committed to stay with their patients even under hospital evacuation orders and at risk of death.
    • It is uncertain what the health system of Gaza will look like in the future.
    • Already at least 28 doctors and other health workers have been killed in Gaza, with ambulances and a number of hospitals rendered useless by the bombs.

Decades of underfunding, blockade have weakened Gaza's health system – the siege has pushed it into abject crisis

Retrieved on: 
Tuesday, October 17, 2023

By then, four hospitals had already ceased functioning in Gaza’s north due to damage from Israeli bombs.

Key Points: 
  • By then, four hospitals had already ceased functioning in Gaza’s north due to damage from Israeli bombs.
  • Insufficiently and poorly resourced for decades, doctors and hospitals also had to contend with the devastating effects of a 16-year blockade imposed by Israel, in part with coordination with Egypt.

A system completely overwhelmed

    • Hospitals in Gaza are completely overwhelmed.
    • They are seeing around 1,000 new patients per day, in a health system with only 2,500 hospital beds for a population of over 2 million people.
    • People maimed in the bombing are being treated for horrific injuries without basics such as gauze dressings, antiseptic, IV bags and painkillers.
    • The U.N. estimates this fuel will run out any day due to a complete siege placed on Gaza by Israel.

A century of underfunding

    • But Gaza’s health care system was already under stress before the latest bombardment.
    • In fact, policies that stretch back decades have left it unable to meet even the basic health needs of Gaza’s residents, let alone respond to the ongoing humanitarian catastrophe.
    • What each have had in common is that, from my perspective as a global health expert, they invested little in Palestinian health.
    • For periods of the 20th century, the health priorities of successive governing bodies appeared focused more on reducing the spread of communicable disease to protect foreigners interacting with the native Palestinian population.

Dying before they can leave

    • Since then, chronic underfunding of public hospitals has meant that Palestinians in Gaza have remained reliant on outside money and nongovernmental organizations for essential health services.
    • During the passage of the Oslo Accords in the mid-1990s, the Palestinian Authority was established to administer services in the occupied territories.
    • The Palestinian Authority received a significant influx of humanitarian aid as it took on civil responsibilities, including health.
    • As a result, health indicators for Palestinians, including life expectancy and immunization rates, started to improve in the late 1990s.

Gaza health services after the siege

    • It is uncertain what the health system of Gaza will look like in the future.
    • Already at least 28 doctors and other health workers have been killed in Gaza, with ambulances and a number of hospitals rendered useless by the bombs.

African leaders warn of deadly malaria emergency and call for urgent action to address unprecedented funding shortfall

Retrieved on: 
Saturday, September 23, 2023

NEW YORK, Sept. 23, 2023 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- African Union Heads of State and Government, global health leaders and development partners today issued a joint call for urgent action to address the looming malaria emergency. They warned that failure to act now will put at risk both the African Union's target of eliminating malaria in Africa by 2030, and the UN target of ending malaria epidemics by 2030.

Key Points: 
  • African Union Heads of State and Government, global health leaders and development partners today issued a joint call for urgent action to address the looming malaria emergency.
  • NEW YORK, Sept. 23, 2023 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- African Union Heads of State and Government, global health leaders and development partners today issued a joint call for urgent action to address the looming malaria emergency.
  • "If we don't act swiftly to address the immediate gap of $1.5 billion and mobilise the necessary resources, we will undoubtedly see malaria upsurges and epidemics."
  • His Excellency President Umaro Sissoco Embaló, President of the Republic of Guinea-Bissau and Chair of the African Leaders Malaria Alliance painted an alarming picture: "We are at a critical juncture.

Headlines and front lines: How US news coverage of wars in Yemen and Ukraine reveals a bias in recording civilian harm

Retrieved on: 
Thursday, August 3, 2023

How and how often that suffering is reported on in the U.S., however, is not evenhanded.

Key Points: 
  • How and how often that suffering is reported on in the U.S., however, is not evenhanded.
  • Take, for example, the Saudi-led intervention in Yemen in March 2015 and the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
  • In Yemen, the U.S. is arming and supporting the Saudi-led coalition, whose airstrikes and blockades have caused immense human suffering.
  • These biases lead to reporting that highlights or downplays human suffering in the two conflicts in a way that seemingly coincides with U.S. foreign policy objectives.

Ukraine in spotlight

    • War in Ukraine is clearly seen as more newsworthy to U.S. readers.
    • Headlines on Ukraine passed that mark in under three months and then doubled it within nine months.
    • Front-page stories on Ukraine have been commonplace ever since the Russian invasion began in February 2022.

More context on Ukraine

    • When we analyzed headlines on Yemen and Ukraine, we classified them as either “episodic,” meaning focused on specific events, or “thematic,” meaning more contextual.
    • In contrast, headlines on Ukraine involved a greater emphasis on context, accounting for 73% of total articles.
    • Meanwhile, contextual articles on Ukraine trace the broader implications of the conflict and reflect stories of continual Russian responsibility and accountability.

Differences in assigning blame

    • We found 50 headlines on Yemen that reported on specific attacks carried out by the Saudi-led coalition.
    • Of them, 18 – just 36% – attributed responsibility to Saudi Arabia or the coalition.
    • Here, of the 50 headlines about Russian attacks, 44 of them – or 88% – explicitly attributed responsibility to Russia.

A tale of two humanitarian crises

    • Both invasions have led to situations of food insecurity – in Yemen creating a national risk of famine, and in Ukraine compromising global grain supply.
    • However, the way the news stories speak about hunger in both countries has little in common.

Moral outrage vs. neutrality

    • Headlines on Ukraine tend to invoke moral judgments, we found, compared with a more neutral tone on Yemen.
    • This Is Their Story.” This moral positioning on the conflict in Ukraine is not necessarily a problem.
    • However, it is noteworthy that New York Times headlines on Yemen fail to employ similarly condemnatory narratives toward the Saudi-led coalition in Yemen.

Journalism of deference

    • What’s different is that the U.S. is essentially on opposite sides in these conflicts when it comes to its relationship to those inflicting the most civilian casualties.
    • Washington officials have made open and direct declarations about the inhumanity of atrocities in Ukraine while avoiding inquiry and condemnation of those in Yemen.
    • Our research suggests that such messaging may be supported by the news media.

Australia announces $110 million in new military and humanitarian assistance for Ukraine

Retrieved on: 
Monday, June 26, 2023

Australia will provide $110 million in further assistance to Ukraine, bringing its total support to $790 million during the conflict.

Key Points: 
  • Australia will provide $110 million in further assistance to Ukraine, bringing its total support to $790 million during the conflict.
  • Australia will also extend duty-free access for goods imported from Ukraine for another year.
  • Of the total $790 million Australia has provided, $610 million has been in military assistance.
  • But Australia still has not returned its ambassador back to Ukraine, despite many other countries having done so.

I2LEC Pledges to Enhance the Role of Law Enforcement Agencies in the Fight against Crimes that Affect the Environment

Retrieved on: 
Tuesday, May 30, 2023

During the discussion, the panellists highlighted the importance of giving law enforcement agencies the means to effectively address crimes that affect the environment, including by supporting further research and analysis into the patterns, trends and impacts of such crimes.

Key Points: 
  • During the discussion, the panellists highlighted the importance of giving law enforcement agencies the means to effectively address crimes that affect the environment, including by supporting further research and analysis into the patterns, trends and impacts of such crimes.
  • They also stressed the importance of involving the international law enforcement community in the climate change dialogue, to better anticipate and mitigate related challenges that may impact law enforcement operations.
  • We expect it to serve as a model framework for increasing global law enforcement community's resilience to climate change."
  • It is our hope that the I2LEC pledge announced by the UAE will serve as a call to action for the global law enforcement community to foster greater cooperation in the fight against crimes that affect the environment.

Sudan refugee crisis: aid agencies face huge challenges as hundreds of thousands flee violence

Retrieved on: 
Thursday, May 11, 2023

The conflict, currently unfolding in the capital, Khartoum, has created a widespread humanitarian crisis.

Key Points: 
  • The conflict, currently unfolding in the capital, Khartoum, has created a widespread humanitarian crisis.
  • International law and refugee expert Cristiano d'Orsi tells us what his biggest concerns about the situation are, and what needs to be done to address them.

What are your biggest concerns with the refugee situation?

    • At least 100,000 people have already arrived in neighbouring countries, including Chad, Egypt and South Sudan.
    • Contingency plans are being put in place for about 860,000 refugees.
    • As an expert on the legal protection of asylum-seekers, refugees and migrants, I’m interested in seeing how these vulnerable groups will fare.
    • The numbers are high partly because Sudan hosted 1.1 million refugees, one of the largest refugee populations in Africa.
    • South Sudanese represented more than 70% (800,000) of the refugees in Sudan, followed by 126,000 Eritrean refugees (11%).

What’s the international response been like?

    • From what I’ve seen, for now, it’s mostly been the United Nations, European Union and a handful of individual countries.
    • It has also pledged to coordinate international action on Sudan.
    • And the International Medical Corps has launched a regional response to meet the needs of internally displaced persons and refugees.

What more needs to be done?

    • The most obvious solution to end Sudan’s refugee crisis is to make efforts to reach a peace agreement.
    • While attempts to mediate the conflict are underway, for instance by the Arab League, there are several factors that must be respected.
    • First, the rights of refugees, asylum seekers and returnees must be respected and protected.
    • Five of Sudan’s neighbours are party to the 1951 Refugee Convention, so they’re obliged to protect refugees on their territory.

IN ADVANCE OF WORLD WATER DAY, ACTION AGAINST HUNGER ANALYSIS FINDS A 70% FUNDING GAP FOR WATER PROGRAMS ACROSS 41 COUNTRIES

Retrieved on: 
Tuesday, March 21, 2023

NEW YORK, March 21, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- According to a new report from Action Against Hunger, fewer than 30% of appeals for humanitarian support for water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) related programs were met in 2022, leaving an average funding gap of 70.3%. Released one day before World Water Day (March 22), the analysis looked at available data for 41 countries that used the UN humanitarian system to request humanitarian assistance for WASH programs in 2022, and highlights the connection between decreased water funding and growing hunger.

Key Points: 
  • Released one day before World Water Day (March 22), the analysis looked at available data for 41 countries that used the UN humanitarian system to request humanitarian assistance for WASH programs in 2022, and highlights the connection between decreased water funding and growing hunger.
  • "When people think about hunger, water is not always part of that conversation," said Jean Lapegue, Senior WASH Advisor, Action Against Hunger.
  • When looking at funding for countries dealing with crisis levels of hunger (or worse), Action Against Hunger found a 53% gap in funding for hunger programs, a 62% gap in WASH funding, and a 55% gap in health funding.
  • The analysis considered both the overall funding levels of WASH programs in 2022 as well as funding for countries that experienced "crisis" levels of hunger in 2021.

Supply Chain Visibility to Ensure Humanitarian Assistance for All in Need

Retrieved on: 
Wednesday, February 1, 2023

SAN ANTONIO, Feb. 1, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- As the number of urgent humanitarian challenges grows, there is a clear need for more funding and resources to address crises such as natural disasters, climate change, civil conflicts, and economic insecurity. Millions of people require humanitarian assistance, including food, clean water, shelter, medicine, and protection, according to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA). Despite continuous increases in total funding for global aid, demand far outstrips supply. A 14% decrease in funding between 2019 and 2020 emphasizes the importance of ensuring efficiency and minimizing waste in aid response operations. Without an adequate aid supply chain, aid providers will face ongoing challenges in providing appropriate, timely assistance to those in greatest need.

Key Points: 
  • Millions of people require humanitarian assistance, including food, clean water, shelter, medicine, and protection, according to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA).
  • Without an adequate aid supply chain, aid providers will face ongoing challenges in providing appropriate, timely assistance to those in greatest need.
  • In emergency humanitarian aid programs, supply chain blind spots and uncoordinated response plans often disrupt aid delivery, making it difficult for aid providers to identify potential or existing problems that require rectification.
  • It continues to improve its efforts at providing increased visibility to aid supply chains through:
    Dialoging with various stakeholders in the supply chain and partners on the ground.

Supply Chain Visibility to Ensure Humanitarian Assistance for All in Need

Retrieved on: 
Wednesday, February 1, 2023

SAN ANTONIO, Feb. 1, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- As the number of urgent humanitarian challenges grows, there is a clear need for more funding and resources to address crises such as natural disasters, climate change, civil conflicts, and economic insecurity. Millions of people require humanitarian assistance, including food, clean water, shelter, medicine, and protection, according to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA). Despite continuous increases in total funding for global aid, demand far outstrips supply. A 14% decrease in funding between 2019 and 2020 emphasizes the importance of ensuring efficiency and minimizing waste in aid response operations. Without an adequate aid supply chain, aid providers will face ongoing challenges in providing appropriate, timely assistance to those in greatest need.

Key Points: 
  • Millions of people require humanitarian assistance, including food, clean water, shelter, medicine, and protection, according to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA).
  • Without an adequate aid supply chain, aid providers will face ongoing challenges in providing appropriate, timely assistance to those in greatest need.
  • In emergency humanitarian aid programs, supply chain blind spots and uncoordinated response plans often disrupt aid delivery, making it difficult for aid providers to identify potential or existing problems that require rectification.
  • It continues to improve its efforts at providing increased visibility to aid supply chains through:
    Dialoging with various stakeholders in the supply chain and partners on the ground.