The water and waste infrastructure in Gaza has been slowly deteriorating for years now. War damage, political conflict and dwindling resources are all part of the problem – however, the most troubling aspect is that there is little hope for improvement. According to the latest report by Save the Children and Medical Aid for Palestinians, Gaza’s water is too contaminated to drink and the number of children treated with diarrhoea has doubled in the last five years. The report also remarked that Israel’s five year blockade of the territory is preventing important sanitation equipment from reaching the people of Gaza.
The report found that sanitation related diseases – with serious implications for child mortality, such as typhoid fever and watery diarrhoea – had increased in children under the age of three in clinics serving refugees in the Gaza Strip. In 2012 alone, three children also drowned in pools of open sewage and there were calls for an investigation to look into the causes and ways to prevent similar incidents.
It is believed that just 5% of the available water in Gaza is suitable for consumption and so projects such as the desalination plant which is backed by Europe are very important. However, political wrangling and the Israeli blockade of the Gaza Strip are real barriers that such projects struggle to overcome. more
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