The Independent Uganda: You get the Truth we Pay the Price
GENEVA | Xinhua | The World Health Organization (WHO) Executive Board adopted a resolution on Sunday, urging for prompt and unobstructed humanitarian aid access to the Gaza Strip.
At the request of 17 member states, the Executive Board convened a special session at the WHO headquarters in Geneva to discuss the health conditions in the occupied Palestinian territory, including east Jerusalem.
In his opening remarks, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said that “the impact of the conflict on health is catastrophic” and “Gaza’s health system is on its knees and collapsing.”
According to the WHO, only 14 hospitals out of the original 36 are partially functional, including two in the north of the Wadi Gaza and 12 in the south.
While condemning the attacks by Hamas on Israel and deploring the loss of over 1,200 lives, the WHO chief said that over 17,000 people are reported to have died in Gaza, including 7,000 children.
More than 46,000 injuries have been reported and 1.9 million people are displaced, “almost the entire population of the Gaza Strip,” he underlined.
In accordance with international law, healthcare facilities are designated for protection during conflicts. However, Tedros said that since Oct. 7, WHO has verified more than 449 attacks on healthcare facilities in Gaza and the West Bank, and 60 attacks on healthcare facilities in Israel.
Tedros emphasized that a ceasefire is crucial for safeguarding and enhancing the health of the people in Gaza.
Meanwhile, the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) is set to convene an emergency special session on Gaza on Tuesday, said Monica Grayley, the UNGA president’s spokesperson.
“President of the UN General Assembly, Dennis Francis, has just informed member states that he will convene the 45th plenary meeting of the tenth Emergency Special Session of the General Assembly on Tuesday, Dec. 12,” the spokesperson said on Sunday.
Egypt and Mauritania formally requested a meeting, citing the UN General Assembly Resolution 377 “Uniting for Peace” in their letter to the UNGA president.
The letter highlighted the urgency of holding such a meeting after a Security Council draft resolution on Gaza ceasefire was vetoed by the United States.
The “Uniting for Peace” resolution gives the Assembly power to take up matters of international peace and security when the Security Council is unable to act due to unanimity among its five permanent members who have the veto power. ■
