Pediatrician In Gaza Warns Of Sharp Increase In Meningitis Cases

JAKARTA - Head of the Pediatrician Department at Al-Nasr and Al-Rantisisi Children's Hospitals in the Gaza Strip, Palestine Dr. Ragheb Wersh Agha warned of a spike in dangerous meningitis cases among children, with hundreds of infections reported in recent weeks.

In his exclusive statement, Dr. Agha said hospitals are witnessing an increase in cases every day, especially among abandoned children living in overcrowded shelters without access to clean water or basic cleaning equipment This increases the possibility of spreading disease and epidemics.

"The health care system in Gaza collapsed under the burden of brutal blockade and systematic destruction of medical infrastructure," he said, quoted from WAFA July 2.

"The situation has deteriorated significantly after forced evacuation of more than two-thirds of the Gaza Strip, forcing more than 1.5 million people into very narrow areas that lack the most basic needs," he continued.

Dr. Agha warns that severe population density will increase the risk of infectious disease outbreaks, especially meningitis, when medical facilities experience lack of antibiotics, protective equipment, and essential supplies.

He called on international humanitarian organizations to act immediately by providing clean drinking water, medicines that are urgently needed, and medical equipment.

Furthermore, he also emphasized the need to strengthen primary health care services, which are now the first and only lines of defense against potential epidemics.

Dr. Agha urged the international community to take on its moral and humanitarian responsibility regarding what it describes as a "complex health catastrophe" affecting civilians in the Gaza Strip, noting that global silencing in the face of such suffering will only deepen the crisis and jeopardize the future of all generations.