WHO: 22,500 seriously injured in Gaza need rehabilitation measures
Published: Thursday, Sep 12th 2024, 14:30
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According to an estimate by the World Health Organization (WHO), at least 22,500 people in the Gaza Strip require medical rehabilitation measures, some of them for years.
According to the UN organization in Geneva, the great need for therapies, prostheses and walking aids can hardly be met at present. "We urgently need help in the area of rehabilitation," demanded WHO representative Richard Peeperkorn in a video broadcast from the Gaza Strip. "We cannot wait for a ceasefire and a peace agreement."
Thousands of amputations
The figure quoted by the WHO relates to serious injuries from the start of the war in the Gaza Strip just under a year ago until last July. It corresponds to around a quarter of all injuries during this period. Most of the patients in need of rehabilitation have suffered damage to limbs. The WHO estimates that around 3,000 to 4,000 amputations have been carried out since the start of the war.
Since December, the Gaza Strip has no longer had a functioning facility for limb reconstruction and rehabilitation. According to the WHO, there is a lack of the necessary material and staff. Many specialists have fled in the course of the conflict and dozens have been killed, it said.
The war was triggered by Hamas massacres in Israel with 1,200 dead on October 7, 2023.
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