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UN PhotoWHO / GAZA AL AQSA HOSPITAL
STORY: WHO / GAZA AL AQSA HOSPITAL
TRT: 03:21
SOURCE: WHO
RESTRICTIONS: PLEASE CREDIT WHO ON SCREEN
LANGUAGE: ARABIC / NATS
DATELINE: 18 MARCH 2024, AL-AQSA HOSPITAL, CENTRAL GAZA
1. Wide shot, exterior, Al-Aqsa Hospital
2. Various shots, Volunteer doctor Bashar Abdel Qader walking through hospital’s busy wards and corridors with many patients on the ground
3. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Dr Bashar Abdel Qader, Volunteer doctor, Al-Aqsa Hospital:
“Yes, we are provided with a few meals, yes, they aren’t nutritionally sufficient; I mean each meal can be shared between two doctors. Each meal usually consists of rice and maybe a small number of vegetables, and of course it’s not enough for a doctor on a 24-hour shift.”
4. Various shots, Dr Qader examining various patients in the hospital
5. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Dr Tahani Al-Samraa, Volunteer doctor, Al-Aqsa Hospital:
“Yes, we suffer from nutritional deficiencies, and the lack of material that we can get; there are no vegetables nor fruits, therefore there are no natural nutritional elements available. We only depend on canned food now, but sometimes canned food prices go sky-high.”
6. Various shots of Dr Fawaz Al-Haddad checking supplies and talking to health workers
7. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Dr Fahd Yousef Fawaz Al-Haddad, Head of the emergency department, Al-Aqsa Hospital:
“Malnutrition is showing among individuals, especially health workers and workers at the emergency department; weight loss, becoming pale, and they can’t work like this, especially with the current situation as injuries are still coming in, if they were to work for two hours straight, they won’t have the energy for it.”
8. Various shots of hospital staff preparing basic meals for health workers
9. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Hassan Al-Hindawi, Staff, Al-Aqsa Hospital:
“In regard to the meals provided to our employees at Al-Aqsa Hospital, the quality is not suitable; lacking proteins, minerals and vitamins.”
10. Various shots of hospital staff preparing and packaging basic meals for health workers
The devastating hunger situation in Gaza is also affecting doctors and other hospital staff at Al-Aqsa Hospital in Central Gaza.
SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Dr Bashar Abdel Qader, Volunteer doctor, Al-Aqsa Hospital:
“Yes, we are provided with a few meals, yes, they aren’t nutritionally sufficient; I mean each meal can be shared between two doctors. Each meal usually consists of rice and maybe a small number of vegetables, and of course it’s not enough for a doctor on a 24-hour shift.”
The latest analysis from the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) partnership released on Monday (18 Mar) warns that the situation in Gaza is catastrophic, with northern Gaza facing imminent famine and the rest of the Strip at risk as well.
SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Dr Tahani Al-Samraa, Volunteer doctor, Al-Aqsa Hospital:
“Yes, we suffer from nutritional deficiencies, and the lack of material that we can get; there are no vegetables nor fruits, therefore there are no natural nutritional elements available. We only depend on canned food now, but sometimes canned food prices go sky-high.”
WHO and partners have been carrying out high-risk missions to deliver medicines, fuel and food for health workers and their patients, but requests to deliver supplies are often blocked or refused. Damaged roads and continuous fighting, including in and close to hospitals, mean deliveries are few and slow.
SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Dr Fahd Yousef Fawaz Al-Haddad, Head of the emergency department, Al-Aqsa Hospital:
“Malnutrition is showing among individuals, especially health workers and workers at the emergency department; weight loss, becoming pale, and they can’t work like this, especially with the current situation as injuries are still coming in, if they were to work for two hours straight, they won’t have the energy for it.”
Without a significant and immediate increase in deliveries of food, water and other essential supplies, conditions will continue deteriorating. Virtually all households are already skipping meals every day and adults are reducing their meals so that children can eat.
SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Hassan Al-Hindawi, Staff, Al-Aqsa Hospital:
“In regard to the meals provided to our employees at Al-Aqsa Hospital, the quality is not suitable; lacking proteins, minerals and vitamins.”
The current situation will have long-term effects on the lives and health of thousands. Right now, children are dying from the combined effects of malnutrition and disease. Malnutrition makes people more vulnerable to getting severely ill, experiencing slow recovery, or dying when they are infected with a disease.
The long-term effects of malnutrition, low consumption of nutrient-rich foods, repeated infections, and lack of hygiene and sanitation services slow children’s overall growth. This compromises the health and well-being of an entire future generation.
