Polluted Water Leading Cause of Child Mortality in Gaza, Study Finds

Illness caused by water pollution is a leading cause of child mortality in the Gaza Strip, says a study by the RAND Corporation, a copy of which was obtained by Haaretz.
Some 90 percent of residents drink water from private purifiers, because the larger installations have been damaged by fighting or have fallen into disuse since they couldn’t be maintained.
The current situation, according to the study, is that Gaza is incapable of supplying enough water for its 2 million inhabitants.
In Gaza, a third of monthly wages goes toward the purchase of water.
Another factor in the rise of Gaza’s morbidity is the poor condition of its infrastructure.
Efron, who led the research, says the amount of sewage water flowing from Gaza into the sea toward Israel and Egypt on a daily basis equals the contents of 43 Olympic-size swimming pools.
A potential humanitarian disaster Despite the high risk for a cholera outbreak in Gaza due to the polluted sewage system, researchers at first estimated it wasn’t possible to determine when and if such an epidemic would occur, since the residents are immunized.
“If the situation isn’t dealt with, it may unfortunately be just a matter of time before Israel and Egypt find themselves facing a health crisis because of Gaza.” Efron says this is a resolvable crisis and the obstacles are mainly political.
With regard to the Gaza electricity crisis, the researches propose the use of solar energy.
They also recommended that the diesel fuel that does get into Gaza be supplied straight to the hospitals, where it should be used for examinations and life-saving treatment.

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