Geneva. – The World Health Organization (WHO) revealed this Tuesday that the level of contamination of the water consumed by the population of Gaza -which only reaches this territory in tanker trucks- has increased to 20%, according to the results of more than 6,500 samples analyzed, raising fears of the emergence of epidemics.
This situation and the upcoming start of the rainy season in the region, which under current circumstances will flood the tents where the inhabitants of Gaza are living in overcrowded conditions, “will spread sewage, waste, and contaminated water into the places where people sleep and cook,” said the WHO representative in Palestine, Reinhiulde Van De Weerdt, in a communication from Gaza.
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In turn, stagnant water will cause the proliferation of mosquitoes and other pests, he added.
“I don’t think you need to be a public health expert or an epidemiologist, like me, to understand what is coming,” he summarized.
«Water supply via tanker trucks is something we are used to resorting to after a disaster or a crisis, but it is unacceptable that in Gaza, almost three years later (since the resumption of the conflict with Israel), these tanker trucks are still what most people depend on,» the official pointed out.
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For the moment, an observable consequence is the increase -they have almost doubled, going from 27,000 cases in March to 48,000 in August- of acute diarrhea cases in a period that coincides with the increase in water contamination.
Van De Weerdt assured that this degradation of the population’s health can be avoided if immediate action is taken, in particular by increasing the number of permanent housing units and guaranteeing a sustainable water supply.
Israel is not allowing the entry into Gaza of laboratory and diagnostic supplies needed to establish which viruses and bacteria are circulating, and thus act quickly to prevent an epidemic outbreak, explained the WHO representative.
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Van De Weerdt said that for more than two years, no prosthetic or rehabilitation equipment (knee, foot, and hand prostheses, medical footwear and raw materials for manufacturing or making custom adaptations, physiotherapy equipment, treadmills, or stationary bicycles) has been allowed to enter, in a situation where 6,600 people in Gaza need them, 4,600 of them due to the amputation of one or more limbs.
