WHO has been preparing for ‘worst-case scenario’ in Lebanon, regional chief tells Arab News

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Updated 01 October 2024
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WHO has been preparing for ‘worst-case scenario’ in Lebanon, regional chief tells Arab News

  • Dr. Hanan Balkhy says agency conducted hundreds of sessions in mass casualty training, health workforce training and EMT training
  • Expresses concern over the  “significant amounts of pressure and stress” that medical staff in Gaza are operating under

NEW YORK: The escalation in the conflict between Israel and Hezbollah is of “grave concern” for the World Health Organization, and the agency is exerting substantial efforts in ensuring that countries in the region are “ready for the worst-case scenario when it comes to health preparation,” WHO’s regional chief has told Arab News.

Dr. Hanan Balkhy, a Saudi physician who was appointed to the role of director for the Eastern Mediterranean in January this year following a distinguished career in medicine, made the comment while she was in New York City last week to rally support for critical public health initiatives.

“When it comes to the health preparation, we were able over the past months to pre-place emergency kits within Lebanon and with a few other neighboring countries to at least sustain some of the commodities that would be needed in case the escalation reached a very high point,” she told Arab News.

“We work very closely with the ministers of health, within the ministries themselves, and we make sure that we can train people on certain skills that we know will be necessary.”

The agency has conducted “hundreds” of training sessions — including mass casualty training, health workforce training and EMT training — within Lebanon and other WHO member states in the region.

Some of those countries have already faced significant pressure on their healthcare systems as a result of Israel’s war in Gaza, Balkhy said.




An ambulance rushes wounded people to the American University of Beirut Medical Center, on September 17, 2024, after explosions hit locations in several Hezbollah strongholds around Lebanon. (AFP)

“There’s big pressure on the member states that are surrounding the Occupied Palestinian Territories, from receiving the (Palestinian) patients and taking care of them, but now there’s actual escalation of war in southern Lebanon.

“So, with that in mind, we’re trying to put together at least the basics that are needed for the worst-case scenario.”

Balkhy voiced concern over the recent pager and walkie-talkie explosions across Lebanon.

On 17 and 18 September 2024, thousands of handheld pagers and hundreds of walkie-talkies intended for use by Hezbollah operatives exploded simultaneously across Lebanon and Syria in an Israeli attack, killing dozens, including two children, and injuring thousands more.

Most of the dead are believed to have been fighters, based on death notices posted online by Hezbollah, the Iran-backed Shiite militia.




A photo taken on September 18, 2024, in Beirut’s southern suburbs shows the remains of exploded pagers on display. (AFP)

UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk has called for an “independent, thorough and transparent investigation” into the mass explosion, adding that “simultaneous targeting of thousands of individuals, whether civilians or members of armed groups, without knowledge as to who was in possession of the targeted devices, their location and their surroundings at the time of the attack, violates international human rights law and, to the extent applicable, international humanitarian law.”

The device explosions led to “very complex injuries in the face and in the hands,” said Balkhy.

Doctors in Lebanon say they had never seen the kind of maiming that resulted from the pager attacks. Described some of the wounds as “horrific,” they said the injuries have ranged from puncture wounds in the face, amputated hands, ruptured eyeballs, abdominal wounds, ruptured bones, and broken jaws.

“We’re looking and seeking to find experts that can help us in identifying the best methods of treatment and how we can support the Lebanese Ministry of Health,” Balkhy said, pointing to “empathy” between member states and “a strong sense of solidarity.”




People gather outside a hospital in the city of Baalbeck in eastern Lebanon on September 17, 2024, after explosions hit locations in several Hezbollah strongholds around the country. (AFP)

Balkhy also oversees WHO operations in Gaza, where the healthcare system is “on its knees” according to the UN.

“None of the healthcare facilities are fully functioning,” said Balkhy who witnessed the stark reality of the situation during a visit to Gaza and the West Bank in July.

Over 500 healthcare workers have been killed by Israeli airstrikes since the beginning of the war in October last year, and where out of 36 hospitals, 17 remain only partially functional. Primary healthcare and community-level services are frequently suspended in the battered enclave, due to insecurity, attacks and repeated evacuation orders.

More than 22,500 Palestinians have suffered life-changing injuries since Israel launched its military campaign in retaliation for a Hamas-led attack on southern Israel on Oct. 7 during which militants gunned down civilians and snatched people in towns, along highways and at a techno music festival.




A man sits near the destroyed Al-Shifa hospital in Gaza City on September 17, 2024. (AFP)

Medical staff operating in Gaza are under “significant amounts of pressure and stress,” Balkhy said, with surgeons forced to operate in increasingly makeshift facilities, often without access to basic medical equipment.

“The healthcare facilities are not just buildings. They are buildings, they are medication and instruments, and commodities, they are also the health workforce.

“There’s not one single individual (in Gaza) who has not been faced (with) being asked to move from one point to another.

“Many of them have moved many, many times, but also with the deaths and the losses within their family.”

Yet healthcare workers “continue to stand on their feet and provide care when appropriate,” Balkhy added.

IN NUMBERS

  • 1.9m Palestinians who have fled their homes since Oct. 7, 2023.
  • 41,150+ People killed in Gaza in fighting and Israeli bombardment.
  • 1,200 People killed in Israel during Oct. 7 Hamas-led attack.

However, the type of traumas and injuries inflicted on Palestinians have been “unprecedented” and “devastating,” requiring “very complex healthcare systems” of the type that Gaza lacks, she said.

“Those who have been working in the humanitarian field for over a decade have acknowledged that the types of compound fractures, soft tissue injuries, skull injuries … need neurosurgeons.

“You need very sophisticated orthopedic surgeons. You need very sophisticated equipment.”

In response, the WHO has worked in tandem with member states to organize medical evacuations across the Middle East and beyond.

Since October 2023, over 5,000 patients have been evacuated for treatment outside Gaza, with over 80 percent receiving care in Egypt, Qatar and the UAE, and a further 10,000 patients are currently in need of medical evacuation for specialized care.

This includes newborn babies requiring intensive care whose families are trying to evacuate them following the bombing of specialist maternity units across Gaza.




An injured Palestinian man is set for evacuation from the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in Deir Al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip following renewed Israeli evacuation orders for the area on August 26, 2024. (AFP)

Another major concern of health officials has been the growing lack of clean water and sanitary conditions in Gaza.

Hundreds of the enclave’s water filtration and sanitation facilities were destroyed by Israeli airstrikes since the beginning of the war.

Balkhy said that the lack of clean water makes it “very difficult” to provide the basics of healthcare.

She also highlighted the worrying proliferation of mental trauma among the population in Gaza.

“The last thing that worries me and that I saw of significance was what we will be facing from the mental stress disorders among the people who remain there and that will continue to work there.

“We will need, as the WHO, with partners, to help support, rehabilitate and address some of these issues.

“So, there’s a lot. The environment, which is a crucial part of the health and wellbeing of individuals, is extremely disturbing.




A boy walks through a puddle of sewage water past mounds of trash and rubble along a street in the Jabalia camp for Palestinian refugees in the northern Gaza Strip on August 14, 2024. (AFP)

Balkhy described scenes of sewage “running in the streets” as well as endless rubble, adding: “It’s extremely devastating to be there on the ground.”

A significant breakthrough in the WHO’s Gaza campaign came earlier this month with the completion of the first round of a polio vaccination campaign.

A month earlier, a 10-year-old baby had been left partly paralyzed by the disease, in what was the enclave’s first reported case in 25 years.

The WHO’s campaign in central Gaza involved more than 2,000 health workers operating across 143 sites.

“We’re very happy that we were able to secure these days of tranquillity to ensure that we conducted the first round of the polio campaign,” said Balkhy.

“The whole world has their eyes on this polio campaign because the success is not just a success for the Occupied Palestinian Territories and Gazans, it’s a success for the world, because pathogens know no borders, and there’s a risk that polio might again spread.”

“So, I’m very happy that that has happened.”




A child receives a vaccination for polio at a makeshift camp for people displaced by conflict in a school run by the UNRWA in Khan Yunis in the southern Gaza Strip on September 5, 2024. (AFP)

A second round of vaccination is still needed, however, to ensure optimal levels of immunization, Balkhy added.

“Every child needs to receive those two doses, between one to two months apart,” she said.

A second round is set for mid-October, and the WHO will look to “replicate what we did in the first round.

“The WHO, UNICEF, UNRWA and the Ministry of Health of the Palestinian Authority did amazing work to make this happen together,” Balkhy said.

“But also significant credit goes to the workers on the ground.

“All those lessons learned from the first round of the polio campaign will be very much looked at in order to have a more successful and efficient second round for the polio.”




Palestinians inspect the damage at the site of Israeli strikes on a makeshift displacement camp in Khan Yunis in the Gaza Strip on September 10, 2024. (AFP)

However, Balkhy gave warning that health authorities are only at the beginning of the campaign to rehabilitate living conditions in Gaza.

“As an infectious disease person, as an epidemiologist and as a pediatrician, we have a long way to go to rehabilitate the environment for the people in Gaza to to be living with dignity and with appropriate methods to have proper hygiene, instruments, clean water, soap and so on,” she said.

Balkhy is also focused on Sudan, where millions of people have been displaced by the country’s raging civil war, and famine has been declared in the North Darfur region.

Her latest visit to the country came two weeks ago, when she called for warring factions to abide by international law and end their attacks on healthcare facilities and workers.

The WHO reported in July that since the outbreak of the war in April 2023, more than 88 attacks in Sudan had targeted health facilities, ambulances, patients and workers.




People inspect a destroyed medical storage in Nyala, the capital of South Darfur province, on May 2, 2023. (AFP)

“It’s very important to sustain the regular people, the civilians who are not engaged in any of these wars, to be able to feel secure and that the humanitarians and the health workers can do their job,” Balkhy said.

“We have been able to work with the Ministry of Health of Sudan to come up with very good plans on rehabilitating primary health care and some of the secondary and tertiary healthcare facilities.”

Balkhy also visited a site for internally displaced people, warning that the level of access to clean water and sanitation, as well as the risk of cholera, are “huge challenges.”

She added: “It came also during the rainy season. It was expected — none of this is a surprise. We’ve been talking about this for quite a while.

“We’ve been able to, of course, with the Ministry of Health, establish cholera treatment centers and rehydration centers.

“So, the immunization program is is moving forward. We’re trying our best — it’s not optimal. But we do hope that we will be able to access as many children as possible.”




Cholera patients are treated at a clinic in Sudan’s Red Sea State on September 25, 2024. (AFP)

At the General Assembly in New York City, Balkhy eyed a breakthrough resolution in a high-level meeting on antimicrobial resistance.

“It’s the silent pandemic. I have led the Directorate of Antimicrobial Resistance as the first assistant director general in Geneva for close to five years,” she said.

“The fruition of reaching to this point of a high-level meeting — hopefully the resolution has clear, objectives, clear commitments and targets for the member states to focus.”

Despite the combined burden of Gaza and Sudan, and fears mounting over a new war in Lebanon, the WHO is “ready to do its full job and its full role in supporting the elevation of health and leaving nobody behind,” Balkhy said.

That, however, requires heads of state to meet their own responsibilities, she said.

“Secure peace for the world so that we can move on with our agendas and truly walk the talk of leading to our SDGs, leaving nobody behind.

“But without peace and without everybody working together, that is not possible.

 


UN chief says situation in Gaza ‘appalling and apocalyptic’

Updated 02 December 2024
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UN chief says situation in Gaza ‘appalling and apocalyptic’

  • Urged international community to “build foundation for sustainable peace in Gaza and across Middle East”

CAIRO: The United Nations chief said Monday the situation in war-torn Gaza was “appalling and apocalyptic,” warning conditions faced by Palestinians in the territory may amount to the “gravest international crimes.”
In remarks read out on his behalf at a Cairo conference aimed at increasing humanitarian aid, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres urged the international community to “build a foundation for sustainable peace in Gaza and across the Middle East.”
The war in Gaza broke out when Palestinian militant group Hamas attacked southern Israel on October 7, 2023, resulting in 1,208 deaths, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally of Israeli official figures.
Israel’s retaliatory campaign has killed 44,429 people in Gaza, according to figures from the territory’s health ministry that the UN considers reliable.
Guterres highlighted the devastating toll of the conflict and the urgent need for international action.
“Malnutrition is rampant... Famine is imminent. Meanwhile, the health system has collapsed,” he said.
The UN chief added that Gaza now has “the highest number of children amputees per capita anywhere in the world,” with “many losing limbs and undergoing surgeries without even anesthesia.”
The secretary-general also criticized the severe restrictions on aid delivery, calling the current levels “grossly insufficient.”
According to the UN Palestinian refugee agency (UNRWA) count, only 65 aid trucks per day had been able to enter Gaza this past month, compared to a pre-war average of 500.
International aid organizations have repeatedly raised alarm over the deteriorating conditions in Gaza, warning that civilians are on the brink of famine.
They have said aid shipments reaching the enclave are now at their lowest since the start of the war.
Israel, which early in the conflict imposed a complete siege for a period on the Hamas-ruled territory, has blamed aid issues on what it says is the inability of relief organizations to handle and distribute large quantities of aid.
UN’s Guterres said on Monday that the blockade of aid to Gaza “is not a crisis of logistics” but rather “a crisis of political will and of respect for fundamental principles of international humanitarian law.”
UNRWA said all the attempts it has made to deliver aid into northern Gaza have either been “denied” or “impeded” between October 6, 2024 and November 25, amid fierce fighting in the area.
Guterres said “if UNRWA is forced to close, the responsibility of replacing its vital services ... would rest with Israel.”
In his speech at the conference, UNRWA chief Philippe Lazzarini said that the agency “remains the backbone of humanitarian response” in Gaza.
He also called for the use of “a robust international legal and political framework” to ensure the continuation of humanitarian aid to Gaza.
“Without this, humanitarians, however selfless and courageous, cannot stay and deliver,” he added.


Jordan, UN agencies meet to discuss strengthening social development

Updated 02 December 2024
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Jordan, UN agencies meet to discuss strengthening social development

  • The meeting, attended by ministry stakeholders, focused on enhancing social programs and services

AMMAN: Jordan’s minister of social development met UN Resident Coordinator Sheri Ritsema-Anderson and representatives of UN agencies in Amman on Monday to discuss bolstering collaboration on social development initiatives.

The meeting, attended by ministry stakeholders, focused on enhancing social programs and services. Minister Wafa Bani Mustafa lauded the strong partnership between the ministry and UN agencies, highlighting their contributions to a range of projects.

“The collaboration has been instrumental in advancing key initiatives, including the National Social Protection Strategy 2026-2033,” she said.

Among the measures discussed was the professionalization of social work through a newly introduced system, which aims to improve service quality by creating a registry of certified social workers who will undergo specialized training, Jordan News Agency reported.

Bani Mustafa also stressed the significance of fostering partnerships with associations, forming coalitions and launching sustainable, productive projects.

She highlighted the impact of programs supported by UN agencies, including the UN Women Oasis Program, which empowers women and girls through training opportunities, and the Makani project, which equips children and youth with education and entrepreneurial skills.

Discussions also reviewed future plans to enhance support for vulnerable groups, including people with disabilities, orphans and those without family support.

Key topics included improving services under the National Aid Fund and advancing women’s empowerment strategies within the framework of Jordan’s economic modernization vision.

UN agency representatives reiterated their commitment to supporting the ministry’s initiatives, commending its dedication to improving social services and empowering women, Jordan News Agency reported.


‘Foreign interference’ not behind Syria flareup: Turkiye

Updated 02 December 2024
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‘Foreign interference’ not behind Syria flareup: Turkiye

ANKARA: Turkiye, which backs militant factions in Syria, rejected Monday any suggestion that “foreign interference” was behind the offensive launched by Islamists in the country’s north.
“It would be a mistake at this time to try to explain the events in Syria by any foreign interference,” Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said at a joint press conference in Ankara with his Iranian counterpart Abbas Araghchi.
The recent flareup which saw Damascus losing swathes of territory in northwestern Syria, including Aleppo, during a lightning offensive by militants, was due to the government’s failure to engage in dialogue with armed opposition groups, he said.
“The lack of talks between [Damascus] and the opposition has brought the problem to this point,” he said, describing it as “a mistake to ignore the legitimate demands of the opposition.”
“Damascus must reconcile with its own people and the legitimate opposition,” he added.
Turkiye did “not want an escalation of the civil war,” said the minister who told US Secretary of State Antony Blinken in a phone call Sunday that Ankara would support moves “to reduce tension” in Syria.
Araghchi said it was crucial “to protect the achievements of the Astana process” to end Syria’s civil war, which groups Ankara, Moscow and Tehran, and pledged to convene fresh ministerial talks in the Kazakh capital “soon.”
The last such meeting took place in mid-November.
“Syria must not become a center for terrorist groups,” warned Araghchi in reference to the militant factions that staged last week’s attack.
Fidan also said it was “important that terror organizations do not take advantage of the instability” although he was referring to Kurdish-led rebels that Ankara sees as an offshoot of the banned Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK). The PKK has led a led a decades-long insurgency against Turkiye.
Turkish troops and Turkiye-backed militant factions control much of northern Syria, and Ankara is concerned that the recent outbreak of fighting could swell the flow of people fleeing across the border.
“We don’t want civilians to be killed or cities bombarded or people being displaced. We want these displaced people to be able to go back. The flow of refugees must be reversed,” he said.
Turkiye is already hosting some 3.2 million Syrian refugees, according to UN data.
Syria’s Bashar Assad on Monday branded the Islamist-led offensive as a bid to redraw the map of the region in line with US interests in a phone call with his Iranian counterpart Masoud Pezeshkian.
Both Iran and Russia, which have backed Assad since Syria’s civil war broke out in 2011, have said they will help Damascus fight back after losing Aleppo, with Tehran confirming it would keep its military advisers in Syria.


Two dead in attack on Sudan displacement camp: activists

Updated 02 December 2024
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Two dead in attack on Sudan displacement camp: activists

  • The Zamzam camp, south of the regional capital El-Fasher, was hit by heavy rocket and artillery fire from the RSF on Sunday morning
  • Both sides face accusations of war crimes, including targeting civilians, shelling residential areas, and blocking or looting aid

Port Sudan, Sudan: At least two people were killed when Sudan’s paramilitary Rapid Support Forces attacked a camp for displaced people in the North Darfur region, activists said on Monday.
The Zamzam camp, south of the regional capital El-Fasher, was hit by heavy rocket and artillery fire from the RSF on Sunday morning, said the local resistance committee in El-Fasher.
The “indiscriminate” attack killed at least two people and wounded a dozen others, said the committee, one of hundreds of volunteer groups coordinating aid in Sudan.
The northeast African country has been gripped by a war between the regular army and RSF that has killed tens of thousands and displaced more than 11 million since April last year.
Both sides face accusations of war crimes, including targeting civilians, shelling residential areas, and blocking or looting aid.
UN humanitarian chief Tom Fletcher, after visiting Sudan and neighboring Chad last week, called for immediate international action to address the crisis.
“It is a tough situation out there, the biggest humanitarian crisis in the world. And I’ve been talking to local people to host communities,” Fletcher said in a weekend statement.
Nearly 26 million people — about half the population — face the threat of mass starvation in Sudan as both warring sides have been accused of using hunger as a weapon of war.
“These numbers are staggering, and we cannot turn our backs,” Fletcher said.


ICC member states must act against Israeli, US threats: HRW

Updated 02 December 2024
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ICC member states must act against Israeli, US threats: HRW

  • International Criminal Court has faced ‘extreme pressure’ since issuing arrest warrants for Netanyahu, Gallant
  • Human Rights Watch: ‘Crucial work’ at The Hague must continue ‘without obstruction’

LONDON: International Criminal Court member countries must oppose Israeli and US efforts to undermine the court follows its issuing of arrest warrants against Israeli leaders, Human Rights Watch said on Monday.

The organization released a 24-page report outlining recommendations to member countries ensuring that the ICC receives the “political backing, resources and cooperation” it needs to carry out its mandate.

The world’s top international court has faced “extreme pressure” since issuing the warrants on Nov. 21, HRW said.

Warrants were issued for the arrests of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant and Mohammed Deif, a Hamas commander.

US lawmakers renewed threats of sanctions against the court and its officials after the warrants were issued.

Liz Evenson, HRW’s international justice director, said ICC warrants “send a critical message that no one is above the law. ICC member countries should make a commitment during their annual meeting (on Dec. 2-7) to take all necessary steps to ensure that the ICC’s crucial work for justice can continue without obstruction.”

HRW warned that US sanctions against the ICC would have “wide-reaching consequences for global justice.”

Legal uncertainty and apprehension for NGOs, consultants and lawyers could arise as a result of sanctions, which are “a tool to be used against those responsible for the most serious crimes, not against those promoting justice,” HRW said.

After the issuing of the warrants, many ICC member countries voiced support for the court’s decision, yet some avoided making explicit commitments to enforcing them.

Hungary’s President Viktor Orban said he would invite Netanyahu to visit his country despite Hungary, an ICC member, being obliged to arrest anyone wanted by The Hague.

The French government last week appeared to claim that Netanyahu enjoys immunity from arrest as Israel is not an ICC member. Judges at The Hague have rejected this view.

Member countries must condemn Israeli and US threats against the court and its supporters, including civil society organizations, NGOs and human rights defenders, HRW said.

The annual meeting should result in “concrete steps” aimed at protecting the court from “coercive measures,” the organization added.

“The ICC needs the support of its member countries to fulfill its ambitious global mandate of delivering justice for the most serious crimes,” Evenson said.

“Member country support needs to be consistent over time and across situations to avoid double standards, and uphold the court’s legitimacy for victims and affected communities.”