“Horror. Unbelievable terror.”

These are the words that Suhad, a 36-year-old pregnant woman, used to describe the living conditions in Gaza. Just days away from her scheduled C-section, Suhad was displaced and forced to live in a tent.

“We’re living in a tent, and the situation is very difficult. Every time it rains, the tent floods and our beds get wet. It takes two or three days for the beds to dry out. We don’t know what to do,” she told UNFPA.

Everyone is suffering in Gaza right now — but the crisis is especially dire for pregnant women like Suhad: “The hospital is unbelievably overcrowded with so many deliveries. They told us that if we want to give birth in the ward, we should bring our own mattress and pillow.”

Pregnant and breastfeeding women like Suhad are counting on your support, which will be even more impactful today — ahead of Giving Tuesday, generous donors are 2X-matching your gifts up to $200,000.

In Gaza’s moment of need, will you make double the impact by making a gift today? Your donation will deliver lifesaving care to women and girls impacted by crisis in Gaza and wherever help is needed most.

For those who do make it through childbirth, it’s right back to the same unlivable conditions afterwards.

“Today, I am scheduled for a C-section. Then I’ll return to the same suffering in the tent. It will be extremely difficult after the birth. From the physical pain to staying in an ice-cold tent — and there are no clothes for the baby,” Suhad explained to us.

She tearfully implored: “What has she done to be born into a situation like this?”

Against all odds, and powered by your humanitarian gifts, UNFPA is making motherhood safer in Gaza. UNFPA and partners have delivered lifesaving medicines and equipment that have supported more than half of the 21,000 births in Gaza since October 2023.

But these meet only a fraction of the needs, and you have a rare opportunity to make double the impact today:

Make a 2X-matched gift before Giving Tuesday to deliver double the lifesaving care to women and girls in conflict settings like Gaza and beyond.

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

Thank you for being there for women and girls.

— USA for UNFPA