Gaza Humanitarian Response Update | 22–28 April 2024

Supported by UNRWA medical staff in Gaza, nine-month-old Jamila survived pneumonia. Humanitarian support is provided despite immense challenges, including limited access, supplies, equipment and safety. Photo by UNRWA
Supported by UNRWA medical staff in Gaza, nine-month-old Jamila survived pneumonia. Humanitarian support is provided despite immense challenges, including limited access, supplies, equipment and safety. Photo by UNRWA

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Period: 22–28 April 2024

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The information below is provided on a weekly basis by Clusters and select Technical Working Groups operating in the occupied Palestinian territory (OPT). It is updated throughout the week to reflect new content.

For an overview of priority needs and activities by cluster, please see the Flash Appeal released on 17 April covering the period from April through December 2024.

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 HEALTH

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Response

  • Medical Aid for Palestinians-UK (MAP UK) has commenced Rapid Response Team (RRT) implementation at 15 medical points and is reporting to WHO’s Early Warning, Alert and Response System [EWARS].
  • There are currently 19 Emergency Medical Teams (EMTs) operational at 12 hospitals across Gaza. 
  • Between 13 and 28 April, WHO and CADUS conducted 425 referrals of patients from northern Gaza to healthcare facilities across the southern governorates. Moreover, with support from other health partners, 18 patients in need of advanced medical care were referred for treatment outside of Gaza. 
  • Between 13 and 28 April, 16 partner surgical teams carried out a total of 1,816 emergency surgeries for trauma patients. These include 12 teams at Ministry of Health hospitals and four at field hospitals.   
  • UNFPA has established two Sexual and Reproductive Health (SRH) clinics to enhance Comprehensive Emergency Obstetric and Newborn Care (CEMONC) services at the International Medical Corps (IMC) field hospital in Rafah and UK-Med field hospital in Khan Younis. A refresher CEMONC training for 16 midwives was also conducted at the UK-Med facility.  
  • UNFPA distributed community midwifery kits and 1,200 postpartum kits for mothers and newborns.  
  • Joint efforts are ongoing by WHO, UNICEF, UNFPA, UK-Med, MSF-France and MAP-UK to restore health services at the Nasser Medical Complex, including rehabilitation of some parts of the hospital. 
  • One Cluster partner has delivered nine oxygen concentrators with a capacity of up to 10 litres per minute. This marks the first entry of such vital supplies into Gaza since October 2023.  Two other health partners have also received pre-approval for importing additional oxygen concentrators.

Challenges

  • Repeated attacks on healthcare facilities have decimated the health sector, resulting in additional loss of hospital bed capacity.  
  • Restrictions on the entry into Gaza of vital medical supplies, including mobile laboratories and related equipment, hemodialysis machines and infection prevention and control resources, continue to degrade the already limited health services available. 
  • The lack of safe drinking water and poor sanitation conditions are fueling a rise in cases of acute jaundice syndrome and bloody watery diarrhoea. 
  • Fifteen per cent of the estimated 5,500 women giving birth every month in Gaza face potentially life-threatening complications due to inadequate healthcare provision. 
  • The ongoing crisis continues to expose women and girls to heightened risks of sexual and gender-based violence, infections, early marriages, early and unintended pregnancies and miscarriages. The absence of separate sanitation facilities, compounded by the lack of reliable electricity within shelters, deprives women and girls of safe spaces, rendering them more vulnerable to sexual violence. 
  • Access and security concerns for newly deployed EMTs involved in trauma response efforts.

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 Nutrition

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Response

  • Cluster partners continue to conduct Mid-Upper Arm Circumference (MUAC) screenings. During the reporting period, UNRWA expanded its screenings to four shelters in Khan Younis and efforts are underway to further expand the screening to an additional four shelters. To date, 55,384 children aged 6-59 months have been screened, of whom 4,063 have been diagnosed with acute malnutrition, including 2,945 with Moderate Acute Malnutrition (MAM), and 1,118 with Severe Acute Malnutrition (SAM). These children are currently receiving treatment, including 47 suffering from SAM with medical complications requiring inpatient care.  
  • UNICEF has expanded the outpatient treatment of acutely malnourished children to 104 Outpatient Therapeutic Programme (OTP) sites across Gaza, providing services in North Gaza (36 sites), Deir al Balah (12 sites), Khan Younis (two sites) and Rafah (53 sites) through 13 nutrition partners. Jointly with WFP and other partners, UNICEF is also exploring ways to expand MUAC screenings and OTP services to some of the 169 Blanket Supplementary Feeding Program (BSFP) sites. Moreover, services have resumed at the IMC field hospital in Rafah, which has a six-bed capacity.  
  • Between 19 and 26 April, WFP and seven partner organizations distributed 15-day allocations of lipid-based nutrient supplements to 13,952 children under the age of five and 5,512 pregnant or breastfeeding women (PBW) in Deir al Balah, Khan Younis, and Rafah.  
  • Since 1 April, 11,286 caregivers of children under the age of two, including pregnant and breastfeeding women (PBW), received sensitization sessions on Infant and Young Child Feeding Practices in Emergencies (IYCF-E).  
  • To support efforts to foster IYCF-E practices, Save the Children has set up seven Mother-Baby Areas throughout Gaza, with an additional four sites expected to be operational soon. Thirty community health workers have been recruited and trained on IYCF-E practices to help new mothers in these facilities. Plans are ongoing to expand the range of nutrition services provided.  
  • Nutrition interventions are being provided at 296 sites, including 21 health facilities, 238 formal and informal shelters, and 37 sites in the host communities. 

Challenges

  • Cases of acute malnourishment among children continue to rise due to the unprecedented food crisis, deteriorating health, water and sanitation services, and widespread fear and stress undermining the ability of mothers to breastfeed their babies.  
  • Access constraints continue to hamper the early detection of children and women in need and the provision of adequate nutrition support to targeted beneficiaries despite sustained efforts by the Nutrition Cluster to strengthen partners’ capacities.  
  • Unreliable communications and internet connectivity are hindering the scaling up of services and the reporting and tracking of conducted activities.

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 Protection

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Submitted on 2 May 2024