Uniting Knowledge, Resources and Solidarity: Gaza Health Initiative Conference Amsterdam

The destruction of the Gaza Strip since October 7 has been unprecedented. According to a damage assessment report by the European Union, while homes are the majority of the infrastructure that has been destroyed, critical facilities including hospitals, health facilities, and basic services for sanitation, hygiene, education, energy and ICT are all catastrophically damaged.

There are currently no fully functioning hospitals in the Gaza Strip, and an estimated 700 healthcare and aid workers’ lives have been lost. Medical facilities are lacking personnel, beds, medicine, equipment and electricity.  The extent of damage to both medical facilities and water and sanitation infrastructure raises significant concerns regarding the potential spread of communicable diseases

To prevent further loss of life, there is an imminent need to rebuild basic services, including most importantly, the healthcare sector.