WHO warns of 'zero-stock' levels of essential medical supplies, equipment in Gaza

43% essential medicines at zero-stock levels in addition to 64% of medical supplies and 42% of vaccines, says regional emergency director for Eastern Mediterranean

The World Health Organization (WHO) on Monday warned that most medical supplies have been depleted in Gaza, and nearly half of essential medicines, including painkillers and antibiotics, are no longer available as 51 agency trucks await approval to enter the enclave. As much as "43% of essential medicines are at zero-stock levels in addition to 64% of medical supplies and 42% of vaccines," Ahmed Zouiten, WHO's regional emergency director for Eastern Mediterranean, told an Association of Accredited Correspondents at the United Nations (ACANU) media briefing in Geneva. According to the WHO, patients with chronic and life-threatening conditions -- including kidney failure, cancer, blood disorders, and cardiovascular disease -- are among the most affected. WHO Regional Director for the Eastern Mediterranean Hanan Balkhy confirmed the continuing blockade of life-saving materials. "No WHO trucks have crossed into Gaza yet. Fifty-one WHO trucks in Arish and the West Bank (are) waiting for approval to enter," she said. Elobrating further on "zero stock" levels of essential medicines, Balkhy said: "Imagine a surgeon needing to fix a broken bone with very minimum equipment, no anesthesia, no sanitizers, no facilities to do sterilization … You need IV fluids. You need cannulas, needles, and bandages. Those are just the basic minimum. They do not exist in the quantities nor the numbers that are required." She also warned of the toll on patients with chronic illnesses. "Even in conflict and war time, there are patients that have hypertension, they have diabetes, they have mental diseases that they need treatment for … all types of basic medications … they are struggling to have the basics." Rejecting international calls for a ceasefire, the Israeli army has pursued a brutal offensive against Gaza since October 2023, killing nearly 54,000 Palestinians, most of them women and children.