19
views
0
recommends
+1 Recommend
1 collections
    0
    shares
      • Record: found
      • Abstract: found
      • Article: found
      Is Open Access

      Preparedness and Readiness Strategies for Addressing the COVID-19 Pandemic in Fragile and Conflict Settings: Experiences of the Gaza Strip

      review-article

      Read this article at

      Bookmark
          There is no author summary for this article yet. Authors can add summaries to their articles on ScienceOpen to make them more accessible to a non-specialist audience.

          Abstract

          The COVID-19 pandemic is a global public health threat of serious concern, especially in conflict settings that face fragility and lack adequate resources and capacities. Gaza suffers from a blockade imposed by the Israeli occupation, environmental deterioration, confiscation of lands, demolition of houses and hospitals, restrictions on movement, lack of control over natural resources, and financial constraints. Gaza's population is consequently living in a poor humanitarian situation with high unemployment rates, poverty, over-crowdedness, and a weak health system. This makes Gaza incredibly fragile and affects its ability to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic effectively. The pandemic is expected to deepen Gaza's systems' fragility, which is already overstretched beyond their limits. This will hinder its capacity to deal with the pandemic, and other pre-existing pressing humanitarian needs. Therefore, in this review, we comprehensively explored Gaza's policy failures and successes related to the COVID-19 preparedness and response by state and non-state actors and recommend potential solutions and alternatives. We have addressed critical issues including the health system, water, sanitation, hygiene, socio-economic, education, food security, and others. In Gaza, effectiveness in combating the COVID-19 pandemic can only come from committed political will, transparency from all regulators, strategic dialogue, comprehensive planning, and active international support.

          Related collections

          Most cited references17

          • Record: found
          • Abstract: found
          • Article: found
          Is Open Access

          Prevalence of diarrheal illness and healthcare-seeking behavior by age-group and sex among the population of Gaza strip: a community-based cross-sectional study

          Background In the Gaza strip, diarrhea is one of main reasons for children visiting primary healthcare centers. Hence, we investigate predictors of the diarrheal illness and health care-seeking behavior among different age groups. Methods This community-based cross-sectional survey was conducted from August 2017 to June 2018 among 1857 households. A pretested structured questionnaire included information about socio-demographic, sanitation, hygiene, source of water, diarrheal illness, and seeking healthcare in households was administered to head of household. To achieve representativeness for the five Gaza’s governorates, a cluster random sampling was applied. Results Of the 1857 household’s heads, 421 (22.7%) reported an episode of diarrhea during the 48 h preceding the interview resulting an overall prevalence rate of 3.8 per 100 individuals. The prevalence of diarrhea was statistical significant greater in males (5.4/100) compared to females (1.3/100) in all age groups (p <  0.05). Socio-demographic, economic, water, sanitation, and hygiene factors were predictors of the diarrheal illness and seeking of non-professional healthcare for diarrhea illness treatment among. A transition behavior from professional to non-professional and vice versa in seeking healthcare in each diarrheal episode was found. Conclusions We recommend improving the status of water, sanitation, and hygiene in the Gaza strip’s households to reduce diarrhea among the population of Gaza strip. Community sensitization about the importance of seeking care at primary health centers because treatment of children is available for free or in low costs.
            Bookmark
            • Record: found
            • Abstract: found
            • Article: not found

            Water, sanitation, and hygiene risk factors of acute diarrhea among children under five years in the Gaza Strip

            This cross-sectional community household-based study aims to evaluate the water, sanitation, and hygiene facilities in the Gaza Strip and to investigate their associations with the occurrence of acute diarrhea among children under five years. A survey using a structured questionnaire was conducted on 1,857 households with an child under five years from August 2017 to June 2018. About 69.7% of heads of households reported a diarrheal episode among their children during the two months preceding the survey. Multivariable logistic regression showed that sewage water observed around the households was associated with an increased risk of acute diarrhea (AOR = 2.45; P < 0.001; 95% CI: 1.83–3.27). Nevertheless, the allocation of a special water tank for desalinated drinking water at home (AOR = 0.3; P = 0.02; 95% CI: 0.1–0.8), the connection of households to a closed sewerage system (AOR = 0.56; P < 0.001; 95% CI: 0.43–0.73), and handwashing practices before and after eating (AOR = 0.42; P = 0.003; 95% CI: 0.24–0.74 and AOR = 0.50; P = 0.03; 95% CI: 0.26–0.94, respectively), as well as using desalinated water sources for drinking purposes, were inversely associated with the incidence of acute diarrhea among children under five. Further improvements in the existing sewerage system and the intensification of sanitation and hygiene promotion programs at the household levels may reduce the risk of acute diarrhea among children under five years in the Gaza Strip.
              Bookmark
              • Record: found
              • Abstract: found
              • Article: not found

              Social suffering and the psychological impact of structural violence and economic oppression in an ongoing conflict setting: The Gaza Strip.

              Structural violence and economic oppression (e.g. control over resources, politically engineered poverty and unemployment) are common features of warfare, yet there is a lack of research exploring the impact this has on civilian wellbeing in conflict-affected areas. This study, embedded within a human rights and community liberation psychology framework, aims to address this need by studying young Palestinian university graduates living under military blockade and occupation in the Gaza Strip. Semi-structured interviews were conducted. Thematic analysis indicated that economic and political domains adversely affected multiple aspects of civilian life and wellbeing. The findings revealed the deleterious effects of structural violence and economic oppression which created: human insecurity; poor psychological wellbeing and quality of life; existential, psychological and social suffering; humiliation; injuries to dignity; multiple losses; and led to life being experienced as 'on hold'. Local expressions and idioms to express distress were identified. The findings contributed to unique insights regarding how continual, systemic, and structural oppression can be potentially more psychologically detrimental than specific incidents of conflict and violence. The implications and the relevance of the findings to mental health and disaster relief are considered. Interventions providing human security and economic security should be prioritised.
                Bookmark

                Author and article information

                Contributors
                Journal
                Front Public Health
                Front Public Health
                Front. Public Health
                Frontiers in Public Health
                Frontiers Media S.A.
                2296-2565
                22 November 2021
                2021
                22 November 2021
                : 9
                : 766103
                Affiliations
                [1] 1Department of Social and Preventive Medicine, School of Public Health, University of Montreal , Montréal, QC, Canada
                [2] 2Quality Improvement and Infection Control Unit, Ministry of Health , Gaza, Palestine
                [3] 3Crisis Management Consultant , Gaza, Palestine
                [4] 4Disaster and Crisis Management Master Programme, Islamic University of Gaza , Gaza, Palestine
                [5] 5Water Technology Ph.D. Joint Programme, Islamic University of Gaza , Gaza, Palestine
                [6] 6Disaster Risk Reduction Researcher , Gaza, Palestine
                [7] 7Department of Social and Preventive Medicine, School of Public Health, University of Montreal , Montréal, QC, Canada
                Author notes

                Edited by: Bronwyne Coetzee, Stellenbosch University, South Africa

                Reviewed by: Mashura Shammi, Jahangirnagar University, Bangladesh; Abdel Hamid El Bilbeisi, University of Palestine, Palestine

                *Correspondence: Azzam Abuhabib azz200@ 123456hotmail.com

                This article was submitted to Public Health Policy, a section of the journal Frontiers in Public Health

                Article
                10.3389/fpubh.2021.766103
                8646039
                34881218
                ff2b72d1-c1de-4ae3-ad6a-64e3ff38929b
                Copyright © 2021 Abuzerr, Abu-Aita, Al-Najjar, Abuhabib, Al-Jourany and Zinszer.

                This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) and the copyright owner(s) are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

                History
                : 28 August 2021
                : 28 October 2021
                Page count
                Figures: 1, Tables: 0, Equations: 0, References: 46, Pages: 7, Words: 5461
                Categories
                Public Health
                Review

                preparedness,readiness,strategies,fragile settings,covid-19,gaza strip

                Comments

                Comment on this article