Conditions in Gaza are catastrophic for everyone as the entire population struggles to access food, water, and basic services. Pregnant women are facing a particular nightmare with the health care system in total collapse.

Here’s the harrowing account from a midwife at a maternity hospital in Rafah:

We have seen a significant increase in the number of deliveries due to the influx of displaced people in Rafah. We are delivering babies non-stop. One day, we had 78 newborns.

The number of births has increased. The workload has increased. There’s not enough time in the day. We can’t sit down for even a minute.

In our delivery ward, we only have five beds for so many pregnant women. We have to deliver a baby and empty the bed quickly for the next patient. We quickly cut the umbilical cord and move on to the next delivery.

While one woman is giving birth, another expectant mother comes into the ward. We tell the woman who has just given birth: “We need the bed. Get up, sit on the chair.”

There are no sheets, no baby towels. Without sheets, we have to deliver directly on the leather bed. It’s very difficult.

One case after another. It’s miserable.

MAKE AN EMERGENCY GIFT

Motherhood can be a death sentence for pregnant women and newborns alike in crisis zones like in Gaza, where access to proper maternal health services is threatened. But powered by your humanitarian gifts, UNFPA is making motherhood safer in Gaza.

But supporters like you have delivered lifesaving medicines and equipment that have supported more than half of the births in Gaza since October 2023.

But the aid being delivered meets only a fraction of the needs. The health system is on its knees. Most pregnant women no longer have the health care facilities they need to deliver their babies safely. Hospitals are overwhelmed, and health personnel like midwives are working under immense stress and hardship as sanitation worsens.

Will you make an emergency gift to deliver lifesaving care to pregnant women, newborns, and all the women and girls affected by crises, in Gaza and around the world?

MAKE AN EMERGENCY GIFT

The suffering must end. We condemn the violence in Gaza, the West Bank, and Israel, including all sexual violence, and echo the UN Secretary-General’s call for a sustained humanitarian ceasefire and the immediate and unconditional release of all hostages by Hamas.

Thank you for being there for women and girls.

— USA for UNFPA