Recently returned from a visit to the devastated enclave, Dr. Renee Van de Weerdt, the World Health Organization (WHO)’s representative in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, told reporters in Geneva, “Nothing prepares you for Gaza.”

“I thought going in the second time would make things easier. But it just doesn’t,” she said.

Dr. Van de Weerdt underscored that since the October 2025 ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, at least 880 people have been killed in the Strip and more than 2,600 injured.

“There is perhaps less fire, but the violence continues,” she said. “We hear bombs nearby. There is gunfire every day.”

Half of hospitals ‘partially functional’

The WHO representative painted a dark picture of the health situation in the enclave, noting that some 22 attacks on health have been reported in Gaza this year and that barely half of the hospitals are “partially functional”, while not a single hospital can be considered fully operational.

“One of the key reasons these facilities are not functioning is because they are struggling with critical shortages of medical supplies,” she explained. 

Vital supplies and equipment are blocked on the other side of the Strip’s borders, Dr. Van de Weerdt said, with devastating effects for the health of the population.

“In Jordan, there is a prefabricated hospital waiting for months to enter Gaza,” she said. “Laboratory equipment, reagents, oxygen concentrators, orthopedic items, not luxury items. These are essential items…needed to make health facilities and the health system work.”

Without laboratory equipment and reagents, “we cannot diagnose diseases and detect potential disease outbreaks,” the WHO representative insisted. 

Blind to outbreaks

“We’re talking about hantavirus, we’re talking about Ebola virus. This is not luxury. This is equipment that we need to save lives, to detect diseases, to alert the world about potential outbreaks and make sure that people don’t die.” 

“You can only imagine with the horrific living conditions, overcrowding, rodents, lack of water and sanitation, that this is urgently, urgently needed,” she stressed.

Dr. Van de Weerdt explained that some items are banned under Israeli regulations as “dual use” items, which are considered to have potential military uses. She pushed back on applying the qualification to internationally recognised lists of essential medicines.

Prosthetic limbs considered suspect

Prosthetic limbs, for instance, are considered dual-use. Some 5,000 amputees in Gaza are waiting not only for prosthetics but also for corrective surgery to make sure that that limb can be fitted appropriately. 

“That surgery for the moment can’t take place in Gaza,” she said. “So, these unfortunate people need to be on a waiting list to leave.”

WHO has supported the health authorities on organizing medical evacuations for thousands of patients to more than 30 countries. 

Since its February reopening the Rafah crossing has been a key gateway through which patients can leave the Strip to Egypt, Dr. Van de Weerdt said, while from the Kerem Shalom crossing, which can be used up to once a week, patients can go “through a very long and complicated pathway to Jordan.”

The WHO representative said there are extreme difficulties associated with medical evacuations for patients and their families. 

“Often only one or two family members can leave and conditions for return are not always there,” she said. “We keep advocating for medical evacuations for very specialised cases. But we also want to make sure that an increasing number of the thousands and thousands of people that need specialized care in Gaza today… can be treated in Gaza.”

A key provider of health services in Gaza is the UN agency for Palestine refugees, UNRWA, although Israeli parliamentary bans on its activity have largely complicated its operations.

 UNRWA’s Director of Health Dr Akihiro Seita told reporters in Geneva that last year, the agency provided 4.5 million medical consultations in the enclave, or some 40 per cent of the total volume of medical consultations.

UNRWA irreplacable

WHO’s Dr Van de Weerdt insisted that “Nobody can replace what UNRWA is doing.” 

Dr Seita deplored the fact that “because of the Knesset bills against UNRWA” the agency is unable to bring medicines inside Gaza and the West Bank and lost two of its East Jerusalem health centres earlier this year, which used to serve 11,000 patients annually.

The UNRWA official underscored the fact that almost 400 of the agency’s staff were killed in the Gaza war. Thousands continue to assist desperate Gazans and face horrific conditions on the ground.

“Many of our staff still live in tents,” he said. “One of the staff told me, which I[‘ll] never forget… ‘I feel like I’ve become an orphan of the world. No one’s taking care of us. They forgot us.’”

Fewer than half of Gaza’s hospitals and under 38 per cent of primary healthcare centres are partially functioning – or are doing so at minimal levels – said Dr. Rik Peeperkorn, World Health Organization (WHO) Representative for the West Bank and Gaza.

Bed occupancy in major facilities is exceeding limits by large margins – Shifa Hospital is at 250 per cent capacity, Nasser at 180 per cent, Al-Rantisi at 210 per cent and Al-Ahli at over 300 per cent.

Critical supplies running out

“The critical shortage in medications and consumables continue and have only exacerbated, with 52 per cent of the medicines and 68 per cent of consumables at zero stock,” Dr. Peeperkorn told journalists in Geneva, speaking from Jerusalem.

“Hospitals are particularly overwhelmed by injuries from food distribution areas, which are also driving persistent shortages of blood and plasma,” he added, noting that since 27 May, at least 1,655 people have been killed in those areas and more than 11,800 injured.

The crisis has been exacerbated by displacement orders in Gaza City that now place WHO’s own warehouse in an evacuation zone. Hospitals, primary care centres and ambulance facilities are also located inside or near these areas, threatening further disruption to services.

Malnutrition worsening

Hunger and malnutrition are worsening rapidly.

Since the start of 2025, 148 people have died from malnutrition, including 49 children – 39 of them under five years old. Nearly 12,000 children under five were diagnosed with acute malnutrition in July, the highest monthly figure to date, with more than 2,500 suffering from the most severe form.

New threat from meningitis

Disease outbreaks are adding to the pressure.

Suspected meningitis cases reached 452 between July and early August – the highest number since the escalation began. Guillain-Barré syndrome, a rare post-infection disorder, has also surged, with 76 suspected cases since June.

Both conditions are harder to treat due to “zero stocks” of vital medicines, including intravenous immuneoglobulin and anti-inflammatories, Dr. Peeperkorn said.

Access challenges

Access for international medical teams and supplies remains a major obstacle.

Dr. Peeperkorn said that international medics face entry denials, while key items such as ICU equipment, anaesthesia machines and cold chain supplies continue to be held back.

Though WHO managed to bring in 80 trucks of medical supplies since June, he stressed that procedures are slow and unpredictable, with many shipments delayed or denied.

“We need multiple crossings into Gaza opened, procedures simplified, and access impediments lifted,” he said. “We hear about more humanitarian supplies being allowed in – but it’s not happening, or it’s happening far too slowly.”

The development marks a milestone for a region that bears nearly 65 per cent of the global HIV burden and has long depended on imports of lifesaving antiretroviral medicines and testing kits. But that may be starting to change.

The human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) weakens the body’s immune system, reducing its ability to fight infections and certain cancers. Without timely intervention, it can progress to acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), the most advanced stage of infection.

In 2023, Kenya-based pharmaceutical company Universal Corporation Ltd became the first African manufacturer to receive World Health Organization (WHO) prequalification to produce tenofovir disoproxil fumarate, lamivudine and dolutegravir (TLD) – a first-line antiretroviral therapy for HIV.

Now, in a major step forward, the Global Fund – a worldwide partnership financing HIV, tuberculosis and malaria responses – is procuring this locally produced HIV treatment for Mozambique, making it the first time African-manufactured TLD has been deployed through this channel.

“The procurement of the African-manufactured first-line HIV treatment by the Global Fund for Mozambique is a great milestone towards strengthening supply chain systems in Africa,” said Meg Doherty, Director of WHO’s Global HIV Programmes.

“This will contribute to better health outcomes for people living with HIV who need uninterrupted medicine supplies.”

Building regional capacity

WHO says the achievement is part of a broader push to bolster local production capacity and improve access to essential health technologies across Africa.

The UN agency has been partnering with countries, manufacturers and global health organizations – including the Global Fund and Unitaid – to expand quality-assured African manufacturing.

“Local production of quality-assured health products is an urgent priority,” said Rogerio Gaspar, WHO Director for Regulation and Prequalification.

“With every African manufacturer that meets WHO prequalification standards, we move closer to a more self-reliant, resilient and equitable health system.”

Progress, but structural gaps remain

Despite the milestone, WHO cautioned that production alone is not enough. To ensure long-term sustainability, the agency is calling for advanced market commitments, fair procurement policies and ongoing technical support.

WHO also points to diagnostics as a critical gap. With shifting donor funding, many countries are under pressure to maintain HIV testing programmes, which are the frontline of prevention and treatment.

In a related effort, Codix Bio, a Nigerian diagnostics company, recently received a sublicense to manufacture rapid diagnostic tests for HIV.

Locally produced HIV rapid tests will help increase affordability, and address supply chain vulnerabilities and delays
– WHO Director Meg Doherty

“Having locally produced HIV rapid tests will help increase affordability, and more broadly address supply chain vulnerabilities and delays in access to diagnostics,” said Dr. Doherty.

Sustaining impact amid funding strain

As part of its guidance, the UN health agency is also encouraging countries to adopt low-cost, WHO-prequalified rapid HIV tests, especially as the first test in national algorithms, which can significantly cut costs while maintaining service delivery.

While the latest update marks tangible progress, more action is needed.

“Locally manufactured TLD is a major step towards that goal,” WHO said, “but more action is needed.”

It was initially suspected the cause of his death was sudden adult death syndrome, but eight months later Alex’s family learned he had taken a substance contaminated with a nitazene.

Phone records suggested he had tried to buy tablets usually sold as Xanax, which are only available with a private prescription in the UK.

Ms Jacques believes Alex was doing so because he often struggled with sleeping while taking medication for his attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.

The traces of nitazenes were only detected after she queried with police why earlier tests had not looked for them.

Ms Jacques said she remained in “disbelief” at the lack of testing, adding: “If I hadn’t pushed for better answers in the middle of massive grief, then to this day I would have no idea how he actually died.

“Unless we’re testing for them, how is anyone going to be aware and informed [of the dangers]?”

A Scotland Yard spokesperson said there had been “delays beyond the control of the Met” relating to the need for, and timing of, specialist testing in this case.

The North London Coroner Service said it remained in contact with the family regarding their concerns.