NOn there is a hospital bed, there are no doctors, nor sterile tools: there is the road, the rubble and, when it is fine, the hands of someone next to it. It is so, that in Gaza, thousands of mothers today put their children to the world. The United Nations speak of 23 thousand pregnant women without access to medical care And at least 15 children, every week, who are born without health care. To the already critical health situation, the lack of food is added: most of the pregnant women or in breastfeeding suffers hungerwith direct consequences on the health of newborns and the possibility of guaranteeing them adequate nutritional support.
In Gaza, mothers without care and babies without assistance
The hospitals of the strip are no longer there, moreover, they have been devastated by the bombings and the energy interruptions. Many maternity departments are out of use, The incubators do not work, Essential drugs are nowhere to be found. To this is added the siege imposed by Israel, which blocks the entrance not only of fuel and medical supplies, but even of artificial milkconsidered a life -saver for babies who cannot be breastfeed.
The consequences on the health of mothers and babies
Humanitarian organizations speak of a cycle of malnutrition that self -fulfillment. Save the Childrenactivates with two health centers in Gaza, reports that Over 40% of pregnant or breastfeeding women are malnourished. This means more risks of serious complications during childbirth, anemia, hemorrhages, preeclampsia, and infants who are born underweight or with serious development in development. Of the 747 women visited by the organization in the first half of July, 323, 43% were malnutrites, an almost tripled number compared to Marchwhen the siege was further stiffened.
In the midst of the conflict, pregnant women face labor without doctors or drugs (Getty)
The mothers of Gaza: the testimonies from the field
«Many women arrive in labor without knowing if they will find a doctor or a working room working. Some end up giving birth on the street, in the car, or in unqualified structures – says a health operator cited by the UN – We have mothers who do not have enough breast milk to feed infants, and we cannot give them alternatives because artificial milk does not enter Gaza “, adds a doctor of Save the Children. Behind the numbers, there are stories of women forced to impossible choices: between looking for a distant hospital, risking not to get there because of the bombings, or give birth at home without any help.
The appeals of the international community
Stephane Dujarric, spokesman for the United Nations, reiterated that the evacuation orders do not take the parties in conflict from the responsibilities of protecting civilians. The UNFPAthe United Nations Fund for the population, He asked for immediate and safe access to aidWhile Save the Children He underlines that the prohibition of entry of the life -saving assets must be revoked without condition. “The malnutrition and the absence of medical care are not simple side effects of the war, but direct violations of international humanitarian lawAhmad Alhendawi, regional director of Save the Children said.
A right that cannot be suspended
Gaza’s situation highlights a dramatic reality: Maternity in war is not just a health theme, But a matter of fundamental rights. Getting in securing, accessing adequate care and being able to guarantee nourishment to their children, should not depend on the political or military context. Today, however, Thousands of women and children live in conditions that deny these essential rights. The international community is called not only to provide help, but to ensure that they really reach those who need it. Because, even in war, The right to health and protection of motherhood should never be suspended.