More than one in four patients screened in violence-afflicted
Gaza at UN-run health centres, require mental health and
psychosocial support, the UN Relief and Works Agency for
Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) said on Tuesday,
publishing its annual overview.
This is the highest rate of mental health need ever recorded,
across UNRWA’s medical system.
UNRWA’s health programmes support some two million Palestine
refugees across Jordan, Lebanon, the occupied Palestinian
territory composed of the West Bank, including East Jerusalem and
Gaza, as well as in Syria.
Immensely challenging year
Speaking to reporters in Geneva, Dr. Akihiro Seita, UNRWA’s
Director of Health, highlighted the “immense
challenges” faced by the agency’s health programmes
in the past year: in addition to the COVID-19 pandemic, he
listed the devastating cholera outbreak in Syria and Lebanon,
regional turbulence and UNRWA’s ongoing funding crisis.
He stressed that UNRWA health centres in Gaza and the occupied
West Bank continue to provide vital healthcare amid hostilities.
Eight million seen
Last year, the UN agency managed to provide around eight million
medical consultations.
That includes around 300,000 people living with
diabetes and hypertension or non-communicable
diseases and also 90,000 pregnant
mothers”, said Dr. Seita.
Out of the 5.9 million registered Palestine refugees, it is
estimated that 3.2 million are registered at UNRWA centres, and
receive health services free of charge. The number of
consultations increased by 12.4
percent compared to 2021.
In 2022, UNRWA’s health programmes successfully combated a
resurgence of cholera in the refugee camps in Lebanon, in
addition to the highly infectious Omicron strain of COVID-19.
Furthermore, UNRWA health centres in Gaza and the occupied West
Bank provided vital health care amid the on-going hostilities.
Airstrikes, violence continues
“Last week, we had armed conflict in Gaza but still all 22 health
centres stayed open and provided critical primary healthcare
service and fifty percent of the staff continued to
attend,” emphasized Dr. Seita.
Currently, it is estimated that 3.2 million or 53.9 per cent of
Palestinian refugees still heavily rely on UNRWA services due to
economic hardship, high unemployment rates, and worsening poverty
levels, especially in conflict areas.
Around a third of registered Palestinian refugees reside in 58
official refugee camps, living side-by-side among host countries'
communities.
Gender-based violence increasing
UNRWA manages 240 health centers with more than 3,000 staff that
provide a comprehensive range of primary healthcare.
“Gender-based violence is also on the rise. That is our main
concern and worry”, said Dr. Seita. “At the same time, children
are suffering not only mentally, but also physically.”
Mental health is another of UNRWA’s health priorities. According
to Dr. Seita, patients in Gaza have the highest detection rate at
26.4 per cent. In 2021, around 15,000 people needed psychosocial
support.
Over the span of seven decades of
displacement, the number of Palestine refugees has
increased from 750,000 in 1950, to 5.9 million in 2022.
