WHO to evacuate 1,000 Gaza women and children to receive emergency medical care

People perform funeral prayers next to the bodies of Palestinians killed in Israeli attacks during the conflict between Israel and Hamas in Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip, October 21, 2024 | Photo: Reuters

Up to 1,000 women and children in need of medical care will soon be evacuated from Gaza to Europe, the head of the World Health Organization’s European branch said in comments published on Monday, October 21, 2024.

Hans Kluge said in an interview that Israel, which is besieging war-torn Palestinian territory, “has committed to providing 1,000 medical evacuations to the EU in the coming months”. AFP. He said the U.N. health agency World Health Organization and relevant European countries would assist with evacuations.

On Thursday, October 17, United Nations investigators said that Israel deliberately attacked medical facilities in Gaza, killing and torturing medical staff there, and accused the country of committing “crimes against humanity”.

Rik Peeperkorn, the WHO representative in the occupied Palestinian territories, said in May that some 10,000 people needed to be evacuated from Gaza to receive emergency medical care.

Since the latest war broke out in Gaza in October 2023, WHO Europe has assisted in the evacuation of 600 medical personnel from Gaza to seven European countries. Not going to happen,” Kruger said. “The same goes for Ukraine,” he added. “I maintain an (open) dialogue with all my partners.

“Right now, 15,000 HIV/AIDS patients in occupied Donbas (Ukraine) are receiving HIV/AIDS medication,” the 55-year-old Belgian said in English, emphasizing that “health should not be compromised.” the importance of politicizing the issue.

“The most important medicine is peace,” he said, noting that medical staff must be allowed to work in conflict zones.

“Angry every time”

According to the World Health Organization, there have been about 2,000 attacks on Ukrainian health centers since the Russian invasion in February 2022. “There may be almost an acceptance, but it causes anger every time,” he said. “We will continue to condemn this behavior in the strongest possible terms.”

Krueger expressed concern about the Third Winter War in Ukraine.

“Eighty percent of the domestic power grid has been damaged or destroyed. We see it in hospitals, with surgeons operating with lights on their heads,” he said. “It’s going to be a very, very difficult” winter.

He said that despite the pressure on Europe’s health care systems, the 53 countries in the WHO European region, which includes countries in Central Asia, were able to unite and prepare for future epidemics. “In Europe, we did our homework,” he said.

Global pandemic treaty?

“What we need is a global pandemic treaty because even if we do our part, we will never be able to stop the virus from entering our continent.”

Europe’s strategy to deal with the epidemic will be published on October 31.

Meanwhile, the World Health Organization urged its member states to “manage and prepare for the next crisis while ensuring the continuation of essential essential health services” to avoid a repeat of the “fractures” seen during the coronavirus pandemic.

He said ensuring the safety of the nation’s healthcare system was vital and should be a priority.

“In the past five years, at least 25 out of 53 countries have experienced at least one major health emergency that tested national security,” he said.

The pandemic has left a mark on Europeans that Kruger hopes to erase during his next term.

“The Covid-19 pandemic has set us back two years on non-communicable diseases,” he said. It requires countries to redouble their efforts to diagnose and treat multidrug-resistant tuberculosis, detect uterine and cervical cancer, and vaccinate.

In addition, Krueger said he also wants to address worrying trends such as the health of young people and growing inequality between men and women.

“It’s very clear. We saw a 25% increase in anxiety and depression orders due to lockdowns during Covid-19,” he lamented.

“Twenty-six percent of women aged 15 to 49 in my area report experiencing intimate partner violence or non-partner sexual violence at least once in their lives,” he said.

Krueger has served as the European President of the World Health Organization since February 2020 and is expected to be re-elected at the end of October.