Gaza Humanitarian Response Update | 2-15 September 2024

Vaccinating children for polio in Gaza. Photo by OCHA/Themba Linden

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Period: 2-15 September 2024

The information below is provided every other week by Clusters and select technical working groups operating in the Occupied Palestinian Territory (OPT). For an overview of priority needs and activities by cluster, please see the Flash Appeal.

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Health

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Response

During the reporting period, 52 Health Cluster partners were active in Gaza, with 31 reporting on their response activities. As of 15 September, there were 15 emergency medical teams (EMTs) supporting the local health-care workforce, including three in northern Gaza.
The first round of the emergency polio vaccination campaign successfully took place between 1 and 12 September, with 559,161 children under the age of 10 immunized and 40 health partners involved in the joint vaccination effort.
On 11 September, the World Health Organization (WHO), with partners and the UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs, evacuated 97 critically injured and sick patients, along with 155 caretakers, from Gaza to receive specialized treatment in the UAE. The patients comprised 45 children and 52 adults with trauma injuries, cancer, cardiovascular, blood and liver diseases, and a variety of other pathologies.
During the reporting period, Health Cluster partners conducted three missions to hospitals in northern Gaza to rotate EMTs, conduct assessments, and deliver medical supplies along with 67,000 litres of fuel. One of these missions, on 10 September, was to assess the newly rehabilitated Emergency Department at Al Shifa Hospital.
So far in 2024, 37 EMTs – deployed in hospitals throughout the Strip – have provided over 1.4 million medical consultations, performed 29,230 surgeries and treated 56,500 patients with noncommunicable diseases. Six field hospitals have been established by health partners and 500 additional beds provided to compensate for the dramatic reduction in hospital bed capacity.

Challenges

Health partners continue to face major security challenges in accessing medical facilities in northern Gaza.
Due to obstacles hindering the entry of humanitarian aid, the backlog of health supplies and equipment waiting to enter Gaza continues to grow, while health facilities within the Strip are facing increasingly severe supply shortages. Public health-care facilities in southern Gaza are reporting an over 70 per cent shortage of critical medical items, including consumables, complete blood count (CBC) kits and laboratory equipment.
The lack of a systematic mechanism for the medical evacuation of critically ill and injured patients out of Gaza results in an ever-growing waiting list, as the clinical conditions of many deteriorates. As of 12 September, out of 14,510 patients for whom medical evacuation has been requested since October 2023, 5,130 (35 per cent) have been evacuated abroad, with only 219 patients allowed to leave Gaza by Israeli authorities since the closure of the Rafah Crossing in May 2024.

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Nutrition

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Response

During the reporting period, 38,214 children under the age of five and 15,603 pregnant and breastfeeding women (PBW) received a 30-day allocation of lipid-based nutrient supplements (LNS-MQ) under the Supplementary Feeding Programme, led by the World Food Programme (WFP). This represents a nearly 46 per cent increase compared with the 20,788 children and 9,757 PWB provided with LNS-MQ between 17 and 31 August.
In the first two weeks of September, almost 30,000 caregivers in Gaza received counselling for breastfeeding and for adapted complementary feeding of children aged six months and older by nutrition partners. As part of its efforts to enhance infant and young child feeding practices, the Nutrition Cluster is currently working with the Sexual and Reproductive Health Technical Working Group (SRHTWG) to scale up early initiation of breastfeeding and support for breastfeeding mothers.
Since mid-January, 290,961 children aged 6-59 months have been screened for malnutrition, including 54,153 in the northern governorates. A total of 11,131 children were screened in the first two weeks of September. Of all screened children, 19,352 have been diagnosed with acute malnutrition, including 15,175 with moderate acute malnutrition (MAM) and 4,177 with severe acute malnutrition (SAM); of those with SAM, 145 had medical complications. Treatment was provided in four stabilization centres and 102 outpatient programme sites to those identified as malnourished.

Challenges

Transport and adequate storage of nutrition supplies is challenging because of the limited entry of humanitarian supplies and the loss of access to warehouses due to ongoing hostilities, evacuation orders, access, and logistical constraints. This is particularly challenging where infrastructure and resources are limited and for products such as ready-to-use infant formula, requiring refrigeration.
Continuous displacement is disrupting distribution, service delivery, and case monitoring, especially among children, and access to nutrition sites. Coordinating nutrition support for newly displaced people arriving at shelters is increasingly complex.

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Food Security

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