3 September 2008 
The political situation continued to affect the daily lives of Palestinian families throughout Palestine during 2008. The increasingly harsh movement and access restrictions imposed by Israel have caused greatest suffering in the West Bank, but the inability to move people and goods in and out of Gaza due to closure of the crossings by Israel has reached crisis point. Most shocking is the fact that the 1.5 million Palestinians in Gaza are continually unable to guarantee their fuel supply for hospitals and for pumping their water and sewage. We are seeing the health of the population deteriorate with rising levels of severe malnutrition due to the lack of availability and quality of basic food items including fresh fruit and vegetables, and hospitals regularly without stock of key pharmaceutical supplies.
In July 2008, Welfare Association began implementation of an emergency project to provide a vitally needed water sanitation network to poor refugee households of Mughraqa village. The European Commission's Humanitarian Aid Office (ECHO) provided Euros 300,000 for the project, which addresses a major source of water borne disease in Gaza, especially for children. Mughraqa is in the middle area of Gaza Strip, with 3260 dunums of agricultural land. The project will serve 4,000 residents of Mughraqa directly by establishing a sanitation network; it will also result in improving the sanitary, health and environmental situation for 12,000 people through the provision of a wastewater pumping station in the nearby Abu Hurira neighborhood. Residents currently rely on cesspits and wastewater flows in open canals; sewage seepage threatens the quality of the underground aquifer and the village water network - the main source for drinking. Project staff will also carry out an environmental and health education campaign, including information on how to maintain the network. |
