Gaza’s hospitals need supplies, WHO says getting them in can take 74 days

Geneva, October 3 — The World Health Organisation (WHO) has expressed deep concern over the dire health situation in Gaza, highlighting the chronic shortages of medical supplies. Reinhilde Van de Weerdt, the WHO's representative in the Palestinian territories, spoke from Jerusalem, deploring the "chronic shortages" that have left none of Gaza's hospitals fully functional. She emphasized that the lack of aid entering Gaza is insufficient to expand or restore health services.

Van de Weerdt pointed out that Israel's approval system for medical and humanitarian supplies is a major obstacle. She described it as "laborious, time-consuming, with no guaranteed results," leading to a median wait time of 74 days for large volumes of medical supplies to clear. She added that the approval system frequently changes, with new regulations introduced, causing further delays.

Standard health kits used globally have the lowest approval rate, while crucial items like X-ray machines, sterilisation equipment, and spare parts for CT scans and other machinery are often rejected. In the past six months alone, a shipment of prosthetics and assistive devices was rejected four times. However, medicines have an almost 87% approval rate, with only 1% rejected.

Van de Weerdt stressed the urgency of unimpeded and predictable entry of humanitarian and health supplies into Gaza. She urged for more crossings to be opened and for clear, published guidance on processes and requirements. She stressed that success should not be measured by the number of trucks crossing the border, as this does not guarantee that people's health needs are being met. She urged for the "release of the pressure" on medical supplies to save lives.