WHO: Rebuilding Gaza’s health system will require a minimum of $10 billion
WEST, BANK, Jan. 17 (YPA) – The World Health Organization (WHO) representative for the Occupied Palestinian Territory, Rik Peeperkorn, announced that, according to initial estimates, rebuilding Gaza’s health system will require a minimum of $10 billion in the coming years.
He said during a press conference that the initial assessment for rebuilding the health sector alone estimates the costs to be over $3 billion for the first 1.5 years, and around $10 billion for the next five to seven years.
“In Gaza, we all know the destruction is so massive. I have never seen that anywhere else in my life,” he said.
“The needs are massive,” the agency’s representative, told reporters on Thursday.
In the meantime, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General of the World Health Organization (WHO) said that less than half of Gaza hospitals are functional.
He commended the ceasefire agreement in Gaza, stating: “It is just about the best news we could have hoped for to start the new year.”
He urged Israel’s cabinet to approve the ceasefire deal and all sides to honor and implement it, stressing that this agreement marks the end of the darkest chapter in the history of the relationship between the Israelis and the Palestinians.
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