NEW YORK (Palestine Foundation Information Center) The World Health Organization (WHO) said at least $10 billion will likely be needed to rebuild Gaza’s devastated health system over the next five to seven years.
In a statement on Thursday, WHO called on its member states to provide aid to rebuild the health system in the Gaza Strip after a ceasefire agreement had been reached to end the 15 months of Israeli aggression on the Strip.
The WHO’s statement added that its member states, donors and the international community, including the private sector, should support both the urgent health needs and longer-term reconstruction of the Gaza’s healthcare system.
For his part, the WHO representative in the occupied Palestinian territories, Rik Peeperkorn, said that the United Nations cannot deliver the response alone.
Peeperkorn affirmed that WHO is ready to deliver aid, but the big security issues and political obstacles which are preventing aid delivery throughout Gaza must be overcome first.
He added that it is necessary to intensify the efforts of the donors and the global community to provide flexible financing to enable this rapid and effective response to the urgent and long-term needs.
