The World Health Organization (WHO) has warned over the dire situation for pregnant women in Gaza as it marked World Health Day, revealing that the ongoing violence, displacement, and lack of medical access have left the pregnancies of 55,000 women clouded by fear.
According to the WHO, one-third of pregnant women in Gaza are facing high-risk pregnancies, while 20 per cent of newborns are born prematurely, underweight, or with complications, requiring advanced medical care that is increasingly hard to obtain in the besieged enclave.
The organisation also reported that essential medical supplies, including portable incubators, neonatal ventilators, ultrasound machines, oxygen pumps, and 180,000 doses of routine childhood vaccines — enough to protect 60,000 children under two — have been blocked from entering Gaza.
This shortage is leaving sick newborns and young children without the critical care they need to survive.
