UN says waterborne illnesses spread in Gaza due to unsafe water
Waterborne diseases are spreading in Gaza due to the lack of clean water and rising temperatures, the United Nations Humanitarian Coordinator in Gaza said on Friday, Reuters reports.
“It is becoming very hot there,” Jamie McGoldrick told reporters via video link from Jerusalem. “People are getting much less water than they need and, as a result, there have been waterborne diseases due to lack of safe and clean water and the disruption of the sanitation systems.”
“We have to find a way in the months ahead of how we can have a better supply of water into the areas where people are currently crowded at the moment,” he said, after making his final visit to Gaza at the end of his three-month assignment.
Contaminated water and poor sanitation are linked to diseases such as cholera, diarrhoea, dysentery and hepatitis A, according to the World Health Organization.
Since mid-October, following the assault on Gaza in response to deadly attacks in southern Israel by Hamas, WHO has recorded more than 345,000 cases of diarrhoea, including more than 105,000 in children under 5.
source: tehrantimes.com