After the end of fighting between Israeli forces and Hamas, Gaza Strip now faces a high risk of disease outbreak, the Director-General of the World Health Organisation (WHO) Dr. Margaret Chan has said. “Right now, we very sadly see ideal conditions for outbreak of diseases.”
Addressing a session of the WHO Executive Board at Geneva on January 20, Chan noted that the 22-day conflict in Gaza had caused a humanitarian crisis there. “As public health professionals, we need to be deeply concerned about the health of Gaza’s civilian population,” she remarked.
According to the WHO Chief, the 1.5 million people of Gaza are served by a mere 2,000 hospital beds. And these facilities have been completely overwhelmed by the emergency needs of the wounded. Drinking water is scarce, sewage lines have been broken, and garbage is piling up. Besides, immunisation, along with most routine health services, has been interrupted for more than three weeks.
“An outbreak under such conditions would be another health crisis that should not happen,” she warned. Dr. Chan insisted that WHO would step up its assistance to the Palestinians as soon as access and security clearances are granted. She also urged “frequent” opening of border crossings to allow delivery of emergency medical supplies in Gaza.
MCB Urges BBC Governors to Reverse its Sabotage of the DEC’s Humanitarian Appeal for Gaza
The Muslim Council of Britain (MCB) views the BBC decision to disallow an appeal by the Disasters Emergency Committee (DEC) for Gaza a serious derelict of its public duty. We urge the Corporation’s Governors to urgently reverse its decision which would severely jeopardize efforts to raise millions of pounds of voluntary contributions for emergency humanitarian assistance in Gaza.
MCB Secretary General Dr Muhammad Abdul Bari said, “The excuses given by the BBC are simply untenable and the Governors need to act quickly before the Corporation’s image is irretrievably tarnished.”
The DEC, an umbrella group for 13 aid charities, launched its appeal on January 23 saying the devastation in Gaza was “so huge British aid agencies were compelled to act”.
For the first time in 43 years a DEC appeal has been launched without the support of Britain’s major broadcasters. The appeal was effectively sabotaged by the BBC when it made a rare breach of an agreement dating to 1963, saying it would not give free airtime to the appeal.
Dr Abdul Bari added, “The need to reverse this decision is even more compelling as the BBC’s coverage of the carnage in Gaza was very tame and not reflective of the scale of the violations committed there.”
In sabotaging the DEC appeal broadcast the BBC is clearly acting against the public interest. As custodians of the public trust in the BBC its Governors must act immediately to avoid the blame of being complicit in denying humanitarian aid to the desperate people of Gaza.