World Health Organization concerned over the emergency situation in Gaza
17 November 2012 The World Health Organization (WHO) is deeply concerned about the escalating situation in the Gaza Strip and Israel and its impact on the health and lives of civilian populations in the area.
As of noon Saturday 17 November, the Ministry of Health in Gaza reported that 38 people had been killed: 27 adults, of whom 2 are women, and 11 children under the age of 18. 3 people were also reported killed in Israel. 382 people in Gaza were injured: 245 adults, of whom 76 are women, and 137 children. Many of those injured have been admitted to hospitals with severe burns, injuries from collapsing buildings and head injuries. Health authorities in Gaza have formed an operations room for the health sector and declared an emergency situation in all hospitals to cope with patients.
Before the hostilities began, health facilities were severely over stretched mainly as a result of the siege of Gaza. There has been a lack of investment in training, equipment and infrastructure, poor maintenance of medical equipment and frequent interruptions of power supplies. The Ministry of Health in Gaza was also facing critical shortages of drugs and disposables, with 192 drugs (40% of the essential medicine list), and 586 medical disposables (65% of the essential list) at zero stock. Many of the drugs at zero stock are lifesaving.
Consequently, Gaza hospitals are now having to deal with the growing number of casualties with severely depleted medical supplies. The Ministry of Health has postponed all elective surgeries
