Up to 1,000 women and children in need of medical care will soon be evacuated from Gaza to Europe, the head of the World Health Organization’s Europe branch announced in comments published on Monday.
Hans Kluge stated in an interview with AFP that Israel, which is currently besieging the war-torn Palestinian territory, “is committed to 1,000 more medical evacuations within the next months to the European Union.” He added that the evacuations would be facilitated by the WHO—the United Nations’ health agency—and the European countries involved.
On Thursday, UN investigators reported that Israel was deliberately targeting health facilities in Gaza, resulting in the killing and torture of medical personnel, and accused the country of “crimes against humanity.” Rik Peeperkorn, WHO representative in the occupied Palestinian territories, mentioned in May that around 10,000 people required urgent medical evacuation from Gaza.
Kluge highlighted the efforts made so far, noting that WHO Europe has already facilitated 600 medical evacuations from Gaza to seven European countries since the latest conflict began in October 2023. “This would never have happened if we did not keep the dialogue (open),” Kluge said. He further added, “The same (is true) for Ukraine. I keep the dialogue (open) with all partners.”
“Now, 15,000 HIV-AIDS patients in Donbas, the occupied territories (of Ukraine), are getting HIV-AIDS medications,” the 55-year-old Belgian said in English, emphasizing the importance of “not politicising health.” He remarked, “The most important medicine is peace,” highlighting the necessity for healthcare workers to be allowed to perform their duties in conflict zones.
According to the WHO, approximately 2,000 attacks on health centers in Ukraine have been recorded since Russia’s invasion in February 2022. He stated, “There may be a kind of acceptance almost, but this should cause outrage every single time.” He reaffirmed, “We will always continue to condemn this in the strongest possible terms.”
Kluge voiced his concerns as Ukraine approaches its third winter of war. “Eighty percent of the civilian energy grid is damaged or destroyed. We saw it in the hospitals, with surgeons operating with a lamp on their heads,” he explained. “It will be a very, very tough winter.”
Despite the pressures on Europe’s healthcare systems, he noted that the 53 countries in the WHO European region—including central Asian countries—managed to unite in preparation for future pandemics. “In Europe, we did our homework,” he said. He stressed the need for a global pandemic treaty, asserting, “What we need is a pandemic treaty globally, because even if we do our share, we’re never going to stop bugs from entering our continent.”
A European strategy for pandemics is due to be presented on October 31.
At the same time, the WHO is urging its members to “manage and prepare for the next crisis, while ensuring continuation of essential basic health services” in order to avoid another “rupture” like that which occurred during the Covid pandemic.
Ensuring the security of national health care systems is crucial and should be a priority, he said.
“A minimum of 25 out of 53 countries during the past five years had at least one big health emergency event big enough to test the country’s security,” he said.
The pandemic has left its mark on Europeans, which Kluge hopes to erase during his next mandate.
“The Covid-19 pandemic set us back two years on non-communicable diseases,” he said, requiring countries to double down on diagnosing and treating multidrug resistant tuberculosis, testing for uterus and cervical cancer, and vaccinations.
In addition, Kluge said he also wanted to address worrying trends, such as the health of young people and growing inequalities between men and women.
“It’s very clear. We see that the lockdowns during Covid-19 led to a 25-percent increase in anxiety and depression orders,” he lamented.
“Twenty-six percent of the women between 15 and 49 years in my region report, at least one time in their lifetime experienced intimate partner violence or non-partner sexual violence,” he said.
Kluge has headed the WHO Europe since February 2020 and is expected to be re-elected at the end of October.
