Gaza’s healthcare teams must be focus of reconstruction, says WHO

UN Interviews

Nearly eight months of war in Gaza have devastated the enclave’s hospitals and clinics but many skilled medical professionals are still there and committed to being part of its future, a senior UN World Health Organization (WHO) official told UN News.

“There's a lot of very capable health professionals in Gaza, and they should be very much part - they should actually be the focus - of any reconstruction and any rehabilitation process,” said Dr. Rik Peeperkorn, WHO Representative in Palestine.

“A lot of them are volunteers, most of them are not receiving any salary…we have to also think about the whole human resource approach to make sure we get Palestinian health workers back in place and indeed working towards a Palestinian solution.”

In a wide-ranging interview with UN News on Wednesday, the veteran humanitarian called once again for a ceasefire to ensure the delivery of desperately needed medical supplies and explained some of the obstacles that hospitals face sourcing simple X-ray machines so that medical teams can help injured patients effectively.

He also condemned last Sunday’s Israeli airstrike on a camp for forcibly displaced people in Tal al-Sultan that left dozens dead.