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UN PhotoGAZA / HEALTH CENTRE REOPENING
STORY: GAZA / HEALTH CENTRE REOPENING
TRT: 01:04
SOURCE: UNIFEED
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGES: ENGLISH / NATS
DATELINE: 13 FEBRUARY 2025, RAFAH, SOUTHERN GAZA
1. SOUNDBITE (English) Sam Rose, Director of Affairs, UNRWA:
“I'm here at the UNRWA Al-Nasr Health Centre, which was able to reopen yesterday after being closed for about a year due to the conflict. The reopening of this health centre enables us to provide essential services to about 20,000 people living in the area. Each day since it reopened, hundreds of patients are coming in. I've seen hundreds of women, children, and the elderly who have come to this health center to enjoy their universal right to basic health care. UNRWA has shown its ability to work quickly, to work efficiently, to work in a very cost-effective manner to ensure the provision of critical care to those in need. Much more needs to be done over the course of the coming days and weeks. We will try and rehabilitate more health centres both here, in Khan Younis and in Northern Gaza. But with this health centre reopening, the first health centre that anyone has been able to reopen in Rafah, since the ceasefire came into effect, we are continuing to provide essential services to the population.”
The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) has reopened the Al-Nasr Health Centre in Rafah, southern Gaza, after nearly a year of closure due to the war. This reopening marks a critical step toward restoring essential healthcare services for approximately 20,000 people living in the area.
During the inauguration, Sam Rose, UNRWA’s Director of Affairs in Gaza, said, "Each day since it reopened, hundreds of patients are coming in. I've seen hundreds of women, children, and the elderly who have come to this health centre to enjoy their universal right to basic health care. UNRWA has shown its ability to work quickly, to work efficiently, to work in a very cost-effective manner to ensure the provision of critical care to those in need."
Rose added that this step is a significant achievement, as Al-Nasr Health Centre is the first medical facility to reopen in Rafah since the ceasefire took effect. He also emphasized the urgent need to continue efforts to rehabilitate more health centers in the Strip, despite major financial challenges.
