Safeguarding children through pediatric surgical care in war and humanitarian settings: a call to action for pediatric patients in Gaza

Abstract

Pediatric surgical interventions may represent more than one-third of the surgical caseload in humanitarian settings.1 The humanitarian crisis in Gaza has taken a devastating toll on children, many of whom have suffered injuries due to indiscriminate and heavy bombardment, resulting in severe polytraumatic injuries necessitating immediate and specialized pediatric surgical intervention. The conflict has strained the region’s fragile healthcare system, resulting in a significant number of casualties, a substantial proportion of which are children. This exacerbates the demand for specialized pediatric surgical care, especially when the existing healthcare system and infrastructure has nearly collapsed and is under-resourced to handle the influx of pediatric patients.2 The urgency for specialized pediatric surgical care and support for children in Gaza cannot be overstated. Access to healthcare in Palestine has been an ongoing challenge.3 Before the recent hostilities, 1.1 million children in Gaza and the West Bank were already in need of humanitarian aid, constituting approximately half of the child population.4 The current war in Gaza, as per a recent UNICEF report, has exacerbated the situation, with hundreds of thousands of children in desperate need of humanitarian assistance and protection.5 Team members of Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) who are currently provding medical care in Gaza, have expressed deep concern regarding the critical medical and humanitarian crisis facing children in the region. Nearly half of the consultations MSF staff provided in the Martyrs and Beni Suheila clinics, in which they have now been forced to suspend operations in, were for children under the age of five.6 The conflict has resulted in a significant number of casualties, with a substantial proportion being children who require specialized pediatric surgical care. One child in Gaza has been killed every 10 min on average.7 Thousands more have been injured in the region. There is …