Water Security UEA

BBC News - Children fetching water killed in Israeli strike in Gaza, emergency officials say bbc.com/news/articles/…

I met John recently in Malawi. We are urgently appealing for assistance to help John Chikoyani to rebuild and restore hope for a sustainable future. omprakash.org/global/communi… #Omprakash #Volunteer #Campaign #Donation

BBC News - Half of Gaza water sites damaged or destroyed, BBC satellite data reveals bbc.co.uk/news/world-mid…

Rising desperation due to acute hunger witnessed during joint mission by @WHO, @UNOCHA, @UNICEF, @WCKitchen to hospitals in north #Gaza; partners demand immediate scale-up of food and water to ensure population health and stability. On 23 December, WHO and partners visited, and delivered supplies to, Al-Shifa Hospital, and visited three other hospitals in multiple convoys. We thank @UNDSS and @UNMAS for their support. Al-Shifa was once Gaza’s biggest hospital. But relentless hostilities and massive numbers of wounded people have brought its capacities to its knees. Now, it can only deliver the most basic of first aid. The supply of 19,200 litres of generator fuel delivered Saturday will help revive vital services. However, more will be needed. The hospital’s oxygen plant was destroyed during the hostilities. Al-Shifa is also providing refuge to 50,000 displaced people, according to hospital authorities. Indeed, colleagues saw itssurgery wing and other wards overflowing with Gazans seeking safety and shelter. People there are suffering from hunger, and the risk of famine is real, as it is across Gaza. Amid dire food shortages, the search for food is forcing people into horrible states of hunger and leading some -- out of desperation -- to take supplies from delivery trucks, as occurred during the joint mission. I can only imagine the torment that would drive people to such lengths. Sustained humanitarian access is essential for humanitarians to deliver food, water, fuel, medicines, and other supplies safely,and continuously, to over 2 million people. But such guaranteed, ongoing, safe access has not yet been put in place. Al-Shifa is a microcosm of the nightmare playing out across Gaza, where drastic shortages of medicines, food, power, water and – above all – safety imperil the population. The joint mission also visited the NGO-run Patient Friends Hospital, which provides maternity, trauma and emergency care. It performs 6-8 operations a day but lacks specialized vascular surgeons, neurosurgeons and intensive care staff, plusantibiotics, pain relief medicines and external fixators. Al-Helou Hospital, which specializes in maternity care, manages10-15 deliveries daily, including four C-sections. It urgently needs fuel, food and drinking water. The larger Al-Sahaba Maternity Hospital, which handles around 20 deliveries, including 12 C-sections, daily, is functioning with only three doctors, only one of whom can perform C-sections. It faces oxygen, antibiotics and anesthesia shortages. Hospitals should be places for care and recovery, not danger and unrelenting suffering. WHO will continue supporting the capacities of Al-Shifa and other health facilities across Gaza so they can provide life-saving care. What we urgently need is a #CeasefireNOW

Water and sanitation services in Gaza are at the point of collapse, putting children at serious risk of illness and death. We need rapid, safe and unimpeded humanitarian access to all children and families in need.

There are an estimated 50,000 pregnant women in the📍#GazaStrip, with over 180 giving birth every day. @UNRWA doctors & midwives are doing everything possible to provide care for post-natal & high-risk pregnant women at the 7 [out of 22] operational @UNRWA health centres.

The entire population of Gaza is experiencing crisis levels of hunger. If the current situation of intense conflict & restricted humanitarian access persists, without access to adequate food, clean water, health and sanitation, families will face famine. wfp.org/news/gaza-grap…

Alarming levels of hunger never before witnessed in📍#Gaza - People are desperate, hungry & terrified. @UNRWA colleagues continue to distribute what they can, but water, food & medicine are being used as weapons of war. Constant bombardment prevents aid reaching those in need.

Recently displaced children in southern Gaza are accessing only 1.5 to 2L of water each day, well below the minimum for survival. Without safe water, many more children will die from deprivation and disease. UNICEF calls for unimpeded humanitarian access to reach children.

Sound & Fury. #Gaza

I have lost count of the number of times when I thought the crisis in #Gaza could not get more horrific. But it has happened again. The fact we are talking about 20,000 people killed, mostly children and women, and with over 52,000 (and counting) afflicted by life-threatening and -altering injuries, in nearly 3 months is both horrific, and, above all, a travesty for humanity. The horrors are endless for those trapped in what has become a Hell on earth. We are witnessing: •⁠ ⁠⁠on average around 300 deaths a day while hostilities have raged •⁠ ⁠⁠a devastated health system with only 9 of Gaza's 36 hospitals partially functioning; with none functioning in the north •⁠ ⁠⁠children orphaned after parents have been slain •⁠ ⁠⁠disease, hunger and lack of clean water and sanitation posing further risks beyond the bombs and bullets •⁠ ⁠a constantly perilous and restricted humanitarian space in which to deliver life-saving medical supplies in •⁠ ⁠⁠mental health trauma that will haunt many for years. The carnage must stop. We need a #CeasefireNOW.

If the bombs don’t kill children in #Gaza, hunger might. Cases of dehydration & malnutrition are increasing rapidly. Starvation must never be used as a weapon of war. We need a definitive #CeasefireNOW and full humanitarian access.

"What is happening in📍#Gaza should make all of us outraged. It should push all of us to rethink our values our humanity" @JulietteTouma tells @globalnews @UNRWA's had 170 facilities in #Gaza hit & 136 colleagues killed since the war began The level of despair is unimaginable.

“Children in Gaza are now in danger from the sky, disease on the ground, and death from hunger and thirst. Nowhere is safe.” Read UNICEF spokesperson @1james_elder's firsthand account of the impact of the war on children and families: uni.cf/3NtrdtF

Over 60% of the infrastructure in📍#Gaza has been destroyed or damaged. More than 90% of the Gazan population have been displaced. This is a staggering and unprecedented level of destruction and forced displacement, taking place in front of our eyes.

In war, words matter too. And truth has been lethally absent. #Gaza

The Israeli army has attacked Al Awda hospital in Jabalya camp and arrested its medical and nursing staff. Dr Ahmad Muhanna its Medical Director has been taken away to an unknown location by the Israeli army.

UN Women estimates that: 2 mothers are killed in #Gaza every hour, and 7 women every two hours. We continue to call for a humanitarian ceasefire. twitter.com/UN/status/1736…

📢GLOBAL DAY OF ACTION: #CEASEFIRENOW🌍 Today, on December 18th, people worldwide are uniting to call for a sustained ceasefire in Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories. Humanitarian organizations and individuals from 90+ countries are coming together - with over 3 million signatures across major petitions including Amnesty, @Avaaz and @Change, the world demands immediate action. In the face of a dire humanitarian crisis in Gaza, a ceasefire is essential to save lives and provide aid.

Entire neighborhoods in Gaza, where children used to play and go to school, have been turned into stacks of rubble. Children need an immediate, long-lasting humanitarian ceasefire. Now.