Gaza: EMERGENCY Opens New Clinic in Al-Qarara
EMERGENCY has opened a new primary healthcare clinic in the Gaza Strip, in al-Qarara (Khan Younis), within the so-called ‘humanitarian zone’ defined by Israeli forces at the beginning of the conflict. The clinic, operating in a catchment area of 10,000 people, provides first aid, basic medical and surgical care for both adults and children, outpatient reproductive health services, post-operative nursing follow-up care, stabilisation of medical and surgical emergencies, and transfer to hospital facilities.
In addition to activities in this new clinic, EMERGENCY continues to work in the al-Mawasi outpatient clinic of the Creative & Free Thought Association (CFTA), where its team assists between 100 and 150 patients a day.
“Our clinic will respond to the enormous needs of the population in this area, which continue despite the ceasefire,” says Francesco Sacchi, EMERGENCY’s Head of Mission in Gaza. “The construction of the clinic has had to contend with long bureaucratic delays and the enormous difficulty of finding materials, due to the insufficient flow of humanitarian aid in recent months. Now, the flow of aid has increased, as well as the availability of basic necessities. Many want to return to their homes, despite estimates that 69% of all buildings in Gaza have been destroyed; 92% are homes.”
The clinic is divided into an external waiting room, a triage room, an emergency room with an observation area, a dressing room, four doctors’ offices, a gynaecologist’s office, an immunisation room, a medication dispensary, workspaces for the doctors and logistician, a canteen and a storeroom.
The team, including both international and local personnel, is currently comprised of four doctors, four nurses, a pharmacist, four cleaners and nine guards.
“Since we arrived in the Gaza Strip in August 2024, we have cared for over 7,000 patients. Meanwhile, we have witnessed the humanitarian situation worsening day after day,” continues Giorgio Monti, EMERGENCY’s Medical Coordinator in Gaza. “The population is exhausted after more than fifteen months of conflict, and many are living in overcrowded conditions. We have been seeing cases of gastro-intestinal illnesses, dermatitis and respiratory tract infections, which are related to the living conditions people have endured for months now. In the new clinic, we will be able to see up to 300 patients every day. The needs created by the poor living conditions will not be solved in a few days, weeks or months, but will instead take a very long time.”
Only half of the hospitals in Gaza (18 out of 36) are even partially operational. Since October 2023, more than 47,000 people have died, and over 111,000 have been injured. Almost two million people have been displaced. More than 80% of Gaza has been subjected to evacuation orders, and about 90% of the population lives in tents and makeshift accommodation.
“Many people returned to their homes, but found them destroyed and then came back,” says Eleonora Colpo, EMERGENCY’s Nurse in Gaza. “One person, however, set up a tent on the ruins of his home. One of our colleagues lived with his family in a large house in Rafah, near his brothers. After the ceasefire was announced, he went check on its condition. He told us that it was completely destroyed, along with his entire neighbourhood. He no longer has a house, and he knows that it will take time and money to rebuild it, but he considers himself lucky because he has a tent large enough to live with his family and a salary to maintain it. Another person, from Gaza City, knows that at least until a month ago his house was the only one left standing in his neighbourhood. He hopes this is still the case, but he cannot know for sure. The tragedy here will continue for months to come.”
We hope that the ceasefire will allow more humanitarian aid to enter Gaza, because from the beginning we have encountered daily difficulties in bringing in not only basic necessities like food and water, but also medicines and medical devices used to provide the population with necessary and essential healthcare assistance.
EMERGENCY entered Gaza on 15 August 2024 to offer basic healthcare to the population. While waiting for Israel’s declaration of deconfliction – necessary for the NGO to build its own facility – EMERGENCY began work in November 2024 in an outpatient clinic set up by CFTA, a local NGO, within the so-called ‘humanitarian zone.’ EMERGENCY has treated over 7,000 patients in the two clinics.