Following 2014’s 50 day siege between Israel and Palestine, health and humanitarian conditions in the Gaza strip have quickly declined. Only last month 25 representatives from the United Nations gathered in Jerusalem to prioritise discussions regarding strategies for addressing health problems in the region.
The United Nations Relief and Works Agency cite years of ‘socioeconomic decline, conflict and closure’ as key factors responsible for catalysing the collapse of infrastructure in the Gaza strip. Some of the most basic resources are now sorely lacking; malnutrition is one of the most predominant conditions causing health problems, since a lack of food means that a large proportion of the population cannot currently meet their daily caloric requirements. The UNRWA also identifies dehydration and water-borne disease as central issues since ‘over 90% of the water in Gaza has been deemed unfit for human consumption’.
The UNRWA currently supports 22 facilities which support the existing health-care services in Gaza. However, these 22 centres alone are required to extend health-care to more than 1.2 Palestinian refugees. There are more than 10,000 patients being treated for physical rehabilitation and more than 60,000 patients registered with the UNRWA with non-communicable diseases, including incidences of diabetes and hypertension.
However, physical health, malnutrition, and cases of disease are not the only health-related issues of the region. Mental health is one of the most fundamental concerns at present as international organisations attempt to understand and counter ever-increasing incidences of depression, anxiety, and post-traumatic stress disorder.
The Gaza Mental Health Foundation describe the present state of the area in the wake of last year’s siege: ‘The 51-day July-August 2014 war in the area inflicted a new and unprecedented humanitarian calamity that has taken the lives of over 2,200 people in Gaza, 70 percent of them civilians, including more than 500 children, further destroying the critical infrastructure, and denying hundreds of thousands of people access to sufficient water, food, sanitation, and shelter.’
The Foundation was conceived in 2001 in the USA, in order to raise funds which are able to provide mental health services to the population of Gaza with a specific focus on children and the future of the area. It also supports a number of local organisations including Women’s Empowerment Programs and the Gaza Community Mental Health Program. Its work is ‘directed at helping traumatized children, women who are victims of violence, and the victims of torture. GCMHP achieves this through crisis and ongoing services as well as leading training and coordination of mental health services throughout the Strip.’
The most recent campaign to arise from the GMHF is the #Bissalameh (Get Well) video series, conceived by board member Othman Mohammed. It is the first example of its kind, a psycho-educational video series published weekly online in an attempt to address the effects of post-war trauma in Gaza.
To support the work of the #Bissalameh campaign and bring awareness to the state of health in Gaza, you can find the video series on YouTube and post their trailer to social media.
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