MSF opening of pediatric hospitalization services in Central Gaza
Since the beginning of the war in Gaza, which has killed at least 43,000 people and injured 102,000 (OCHA, 5 November), up to 1.9 million people (90% of the population) have been displaced, with more than a million living in dire living conditions at the Israeli-designated zone of Al Mawasi. In these overcrowded displacement sites, the risk of people developing diseases is increasing.
Meanwhile, people stuck there lack everything, from the most basic items such as food or soap, to other vital services including proper medical care. On 15 October 2024, one month after the opening of a second field hospital in Deir Al Balah, MSF teams have expanded medical activities to include pediatric hospitalization. Eighteen new beds were installed on 4 November, bringing the total number of beds to 51. Since the opening of the field hospital on 18 September, MSF teams carried out almost 16,740 outpatient consultations, with 36 per cent for respiratory tract infections and 22 per cent for skin infections, with around 134 inpatient admissions since 15 October.
Medical needs in Gaza are overwhelming; children suffer from the dire living conditions in the camps, and with winter approaching, we anticipate an increase in the number of patients requiring specialized care. Once patients are discharged, they must return to the same place that made them ill in the first place. The only way to stop this vicious cycle is through a ceasefire.
Field hospitals are not a solution to the medical needs of people in Gaza, but a last resort in response to Israel’s destruction of the healthcare system. Almost 100,000 people have been injured since the beginning of the war, while only 16 out of 36 hospitals are now partially functioning.
In our recently established field hospital located in Deir Al Balah, central Gaza, MSF staff provide essential care to the population in dire living conditions.
Nour, a seven-year-old girl, named the newly opened inpatient department of the MSF field hospital in Deir Al Balah, the "Butterfly World". She was the first patient admitted in the pediatric department on 15 October 2024.
Faten, a 39-year-old mother, stands beside her baby boy who is suffering from a severe respiratory infection. He is currently being treated at the MSF field hospital in Deir Al Balah. Faten and her son were transferred to the facility due to a lack of capacity at Al-Aqsa Hospital in central Gaza. Field hospitals are a last resort response to the destruction of the healthcare system by Israeli forces.
The MSF hygienist team put on their gloves, preparing to clean the isolation tent that plays a crucial role in our patient care.
Ibtissam Nasser, MSF watchwoman, supervises the entrance of the field hospital.
This field hospital in Deir Al Balah, central Gaza, is the second field hospital that MSF has opened between August and September as a last resort response to the destruction of the healthcare system by Israeli forces.