Unprecedented health crisis in Gaza.. Depletion of 50% of medicines and medical supplies

The health system in the Gaza Strip is experiencing an unprecedented crisis, with the complete depletion of more than half of the list of essential medicines and medical supplies in the central warehouses, which threatens to halt vital medical services for thousands of patients and injured individuals.

Medical teams are facing increasing difficulties in providing treatment, especially for patients with chronic diseases, amid severe overcrowding in hospitals and the accumulation of patients in departments and corridors against a growing need.

Doctors confirm that essential medicines have completely disappeared from hospitals, which has forced teams to resort to old medicines or previously used treatment protocols, despite their greater side effects on patients.

The situation outside hospital walls is not much different; patients in private pharmacies suffer from difficulty finding their medicines, and if available, they are sold at prices exceeding their purchasing power, which doubles their suffering amid stifling economic conditions.

Medical testimonies indicate that daily needs remain high, especially with cases of injuries and amputations, and cases requiring surgical operations and subsequent care, where there is an urgent need for strong antibiotics and painkillers, while there is a sharp shortage in medical supplies.

In this context, the voices of patients and their families are rising, demanding the opening of crossings, whether to bring in life-saving medicines or to enable patients to travel abroad for treatment.

One citizen describes the reality of the health sector by saying that Gaza lacks devices, painkillers, and treatments, expressing her hope for her child's recovery and return to his previous health.

For its part, the Gaza Health Ministry confirms that the crisis has exceeded the limits of medicine shortages, reaching a complete collapse in the pharmaceutical supply system, stating that the shortage rate in essential medicines exceeded 50% out of more than 600 types, while the shortage rate in medical supplies exceeded 70%, with a need for more than a thousand types.

The shortage reaches its peak in cancer treatment medicines and blood diseases at a rate of up to 70%, while the shortage in vaccines exceeded 50%, while the shortage rate in heart surgery consumables reaches 100%, with similar high rates in orthopedics and ophthalmology surgeries.

Doctors warn that these conditions may lead to death, especially among children suffering from malnutrition, or to amputation of limbs due to lack of orthopedic surgery supplies.

This comes amid Israel's continued reduction of medical truck entries into the sector to less than 30% of the monthly need, according to the Health Ministry.

Despite the end of the war, Israel continues to shirk its obligations stipulated in the ceasefire agreement, which came into effect on October 10 last, after introducing the agreed quantities of medicine trucks.

Hours ago, the Director-General of the World Health Organization, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, called for the urgent approval of the entry of basic medical supplies and equipment to Gaza hospitals, confirming that Gaza's health facilities face shortages of supplies and equipment due to complex entry procedures and restrictions.