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One Month On, Children’s Needs Remain Great in Gaza
Agency Urges Unrestricted Access to Gaza for Large-scale Relief Response
JERUSALEM (Jan. 30, 2009) — More than a month after violent conflict disrupted life in and around Gaza, Save the Children is stressing that the health and well-being of Gazan children remain under threat and that full humanitarian access to the region is required to carry out a large-scale relief effort to meet children's increasing needs.
"We have been able to provide much-needed assistance to the people of Gaza, and we are expanding our programs to reach even more children and their families despite the restrictions on the movement of supplies and people into the territory," said Annie Foster, team leader for Save the Children's emergency response in Gaza.
Since late December, Save the Children has delivered life-saving aid to more than 44,000 Gazan people, half of them children.
Additional Aid and Safe Play Kits On the Way
Even during the height of the violence, Save the Children, working with local community-based organizations, reached more than 20,000 people with food parcels.
Since the fighting decreased, the agency has delivered additional aid, including food, water, baby hygiene kits, family hygiene kits, plastic sheeting and carpets (to go under mattresses) to some 20,000 people.
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Three-year-old Mohammed and his one-year-old sister Shahed displaced from their home, play at the Al Shatee School. Jan. 12, 2009. |
Four Save the Children staff members with emergency expertise entered Gaza during the past week to provide additional support to the organization's 11 Gaza-based staff. But restricted access for additional staff and for relief supplies is preventing the global humanitarian organization from rapidly scaling up its response.
"For us to meet the needs of children and their families we need to be granted unfettered access to Gaza for both staff and supplies," said Foster.
Playing a Key Role
Save the Children is playing a key role in coordinating the international community's education response for Gaza, in conjunction with the United Nations, and is planning programs to support children, parents and teachers on their path to recovery. The agency is packaging safe play kits for rapid distribution at child-friendly areas, where children can play and interact with their peers under trained supervision.
"Children in Gaza are suffering from psychological distress, and we will be helping them cope with this," said Save the Children's child protection and education emergency coordinator, Dominique Sbardella, who is working inside Gaza. "We know from our on-the-ground experience working with children in conflict-affected areas around the globe that if we can give them proper care and support, they are able to bounce back."
The agency continues to call for a permanent cease-fire, paving the way for a durable peace that will benefit all children both in Gaza and Israel.
Save the Children needs your support to help us meet the most critical needs of children and families in Gaza. Your donation will help us provide drinking water, improved sanitation, food distribution and other necessities.
Save the Children (www.savethechildren.org) is the leading, independent organization creating lasting change for children in need in the United States and around the world. For more than 75 years, Save the Children has worked to improve the lives of children and their families through programs in health, education and economic opportunities, and during times of crisis and conflict. Save the Children USA is a member of the International Save the Children Alliance, a global network of 27 independent Save the Children organizations working to ensure the well-being and protection of children in more than 100 countries.
