Gaza _ Palestine News Network
A comprehensive study by the U.S. Institute "Rand " showed that water contamination in the Gaza Strip is a major cause of child mortality.
According to a study published by the newspaper "Ha´aretz" on Tuesday, more than a quarter of the diseases in the Gaza Strip are caused by water contamination.
She noted that since 4 years ago more than 12% of child deaths in the sector were associated with intestinal diseases caused by water contamination, and since then the numbers have continued to grow.
The collapse of the infrastructure had led to a sharp increase in the presence of bacteria and viruses such as cholera and salmonella in the region.
According to the study, the water crisis in Gaza has become very bad since Israel withdrew from the Gaza Strip in 2005, stating that 97% of Gaza´s water is not suitable for drinking in accordance with recognized international standards, and that 90% of the population drink water after buying it from special desalination plants, and that the competent authorities are unable to provide The water needed for the population of Gaza is more than 2 million people.
According to the study, in every school in Gaza there is one toilet for 75 children, a wash basin for 80 children, water is stored and used, and as soon as children are present in schools, it is a risk that children can be infected with intestinal diseases due to lack of hand washing or transmission from one child to another.
The study warned that in two years, the water sources operating today may stop working without proper treatment and proper maintenance.
According to the study, the average per capita spending in the western world on water consumption is 0.7%, from its monthly income, but in the Gaza Strip a third of the monthly income is allocated for the purchase of water and since the unemployment rate in Gaza reached 57%, many people cannot afford this amount in the purchase of water, while a few Of Gaza´s wealthy residents limited to buy mineral water, while the rest of the population waits for the competent authorities to open water in the faucets for a few hours to be able to drink water.
The study points to the loss of Gaza for all infrastructure capable of improving water status, as well as the proper disposal of wastewater, which is transported to the sea because there is no capacity to deal with it properly, pointing out that the amount of sewage flowing from Gaza to and from the sea tends to Israel and Egypt every day equals 43 Olympic pools, a major reason that prevents Gazans from entering the sea.
The study cautioned against the continued suspension of funding for UNRWA, which regularly inoculated 1.3 million Gazans, provides 4 million medical services each year to Palestinians, and without any alternative to the medical assistance provided by UNRWA if it ceased services, the outbreak of diseases and epidemics in Gaza would be a matter of time and could reach To a humanitarian catastrophe.
