UNRWA: More than 13,000 cases of skin disease in Gaza due to water shortage

Palestinian children fill containers with water in Rafah, in the southern Gaza Strip on November 13, 2023 [MOHAMMED ABED/AFP via Getty Images]

There has been a significant rise in the number of cases of skin and respiratory diseases being reported in the besieged and bombarded Gaza Strip, UNRWA spokesperson Kazem Abu Khalaf said yesterday.

Abu Khalaf explained that respiratory diseases usually begin in children, with 55,000 cases of respiratory disease due to overcrowding among displaced persons in UNRWA facilities and hospitals.

He added that more than 13,000 cases of skin disease have been recorded due to the shortage of water for cleaning or even drinking water.

He pointed out that there has been an increase in cases of diarrhoea among children under the age of five, where the number of cases has risen from 7 October to about 33,000, while only 2,000 cases had been recorded all year until the end of September.

READ: Skin diseases and head lice spread as conditions worsen in Gaza

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