Press Release
UNFPA and France Partner to Restore Life-Saving Maternal and Newborn Care in Gaza
Jerusalem, Occupied Palestinian Territory
Against the backdrop of a prolonged humanitarian crisis and the near collapse of Gaza’s health system, France and the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) have launched a new partnership to restore critical maternal and newborn health services in Gaza, where thousands of women and newborns continue to face severe, life-threatening barriers to care.
Since October 2023, Gaza’s health system has suffered catastrophic damage: 94 per cent of hospitals are either destroyed or only partially functional, and fewer than half of health facilities are able to operate at any level. Only 15 per cent of facilities are currently able to provide emergency obstetric care, while those still operational face critical shortages of medicines, supplies and equipment. These constraints have had severe consequences for maternal and newborn health outcomes and left an estimated 55,000 pregnant women struggling to access safe delivery services.
To address these urgent needs, France has committed €500,000 to UNFPA to support a 12-month partnership entitled “Rebuilding Safe Birth Pathways: Restoring and Enhancing Maternal and Newborn Emergency Care Services in Northern-Wadi Gaza.” Through this partnership, UNFPA will work with national partners to restore access to quality, life-saving maternal and newborn care in one of Gaza’s most severely affected areas.
The initiative is supporting the rehabilitation of Al Horria Primary Health Care Center in Gaza City, which was rendered non-functional due to extensive damage. Once completed, the center will provide essential reproductive health services to more than 20,000 people, significantly improving access to quality care for women and girls, in all their diversity, especially newly returned populations in North Gaza and Gaza City. UNFPA will also provide essential medical equipment and supplies to strengthen emergency obstetric and newborn care services, improve the quality of care and reduce pressure on overstretched referral facilities.
“Restoring access to sexual and reproductive health is not only a matter of survival- it is a matter of the dignity of women and newborns in the Gaza Strip,” said Mr. Nestor Owomuhangi, UNFPA Representative in Palestine. “With France’s generous support, UNFPA can rebuild critical care services and ensure that no woman is forced to give birth in unsafe, life-threatening conditions.”
“In line with its feminist foreign policy, France remains deeply committed to protecting the lives and dignity of women and newborns in Gaza. At a time when access to maternal and newborn health care is severely constrained, this partnership with UNFPA underscores our resolve to sustain life-saving services. France is determined to ensure that every woman can give birth safely, with dignity and with the care they deserve”.
Contacts
Lisa Sabella
Communication, Advocacy, and Partnership Officer, UNFPA in Palestine
Email: lsabella@unfpa.org
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