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“The experience of the distraught parents I encountered last week can illustrate this better than I can.” UNICEF Communications expert Salim Oweis told journalists attending the bi-weekly humanitarian briefing at the UN in Geneva.
Among them is Hind who has not slept since his daughter Masa, 4, was bitten by a rat at night.
They took refuge in a building “where wastewater leaked through the ceiling, and rodents crawled through the building’s cracks and climbed open pipes.”
Suffering and defeat
Another mother, Amani, looked after her daughter Lemar, 7, who suffered wounds on her head, back and legs due to a bacterial infection.
“Amani tried to clean her wounds every day with clean water, which was scarce and hard to come by, while her daughter screamed in pain,” he said.
Meanwhile, Abdel Aleem and his family have placed sandbags around the outside of their tent to keep away rats that “just chew through it” because “stopping them is futile.”
Both he and his eight-month-old son, Ahmad, as well as his pregnant sister-in-law, have been bitten in recent weeks.
Parents feel helpless
“The common thread running through each of these conversations is the sadness of parents who no longer feel able to do what they love most – protect the health and safety of their children,” said Mr. Olweiss.
The situation is easy to understand just by looking at conditions in Gaza, he added, which is already one of the most densely populated places in the world.
“Now, people have crammed into about 40 percent of the remaining space – taking shelter among damaged buildings, rubble and piled up solid waste,” he said.
“Families in Gaza do not have enough clean water, they are forced to choose between drinking, washing and cooking with what little they have.”
Barriers and limitations
UNICEF strives to provide clean water to 1.5 million people every month, but still faces significant obstacles.
Last month, two truck drivers contracted to UNICEF were killed while trying to collect water at the Al Mansoura filling point. Water filling stations – which more than a quarter of a million people rely on – are now inaccessible.
At the same time, essential goods needed to maintain water systems and repair damaged water infrastructure – such as oil, water treatment chemicals and spare parts – are not allowed into Gaza in the required quantities.
Additionally, solid waste accumulates day by day, along with debris, and both need to be cleaned.
Diseases, diarrhea and infections
“The impact of this is now clear: children are suffering from respiratory tract infections, acute watery diarrhea, and more than half of households reported skin diseasesMr. Olweis said.
“Fleas, lice and scabies are common. More and more children are requiring hospitalization. All without a single fully functional hospital in all of Gaza.”
Additionally, although humanitarian groups have succeeded in reversing famine conditions, “the number of malnourished and vulnerable children remains very serious.”
He warned that “without enough clean water and fuel to cook decent food, even children who recover after treatment soon return to a cycle of malnutrition – the effects of which can last a lifetime.”
A ‘completely absurd’ situation
Mr. Olweis stressed that “no parent should be in a position where they cannot meet their child’s basic needs to stay healthy.”
They also don’t have to watch their children suffer pain from lesions or weakness from preventable diarrhea.
“That this happened should – to everyone – be completely absurd,” he said. “Access to water, sufficient nutritious food and health services should not be a requirement for any child, anywhere.”
To break the cycle of suffering in Gaza, UNICEF is calling for unfettered access to humanitarian operations, lifting restrictions on goods needed to repair and maintain water and sanitation systems, and for international humanitarian law to be enforced.
