In May 2024, MSF teams returned to the hospital, and in June, together with the Ministry of Health and other organisations, we reopened the maternity and paediatric wards, including an inpatient therapeutic centre. We started providing support to the paediatric intensive care and neonatal intensive care units.
The needs of women and children are skyrocketing, yet MSF teams at Al-Nasser hospital are witnessing a shortage of vital supplies, jeopardising the provision and quality of care. Due to the lack of other functioning healthcare centres, Al-Nasser is facing an overwhelming increase in patients every day. Between 29 June and 5 July, the paediatric emergency department alone recorded more than 2,600 consultations, meaning staff attended to more than 300 children each day. As more and more children are admitted for inpatient care, they are being forced to share beds, pushing the paediatric services beyond their capacity.
“We are seeing malnourished children, an issue never seen in Gaza before,” says Joanne Perry, MSF project medical adviser, a member of the MSF team working in Al-Nasser hospital. “People are living in tents with minimal access to clean water, and abysmal sanitation. Bombing has devastated the sewage and water systems, resulting in diarrhoea, dehydration, and hepatitis A and skin infections among children.”
Fonte original msf.org
