Humanitarian challenges in Gaza, between rehabilitation and mine clearance

The Geneva press club and Humanity & Inclusion (Handicap International) are pleased to invite you to a conference with :

To participate, please use the following links :

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Just a few days before the 1-year anniversary of the start of the current conflict in Gaza, Handicap International would like to alert the media and the international community to the current situation of people with disabilities in the Gaza Strip, as well as the urgent need for essential demining work. The Geneva-based NGO has been working in Gaza since 1997, and currently employs 70 people, supported by approximately 300 community workers. Handicap International’s efforts are concentrated in Khan Younes and the south of the Gaza Strip, where 1.4 million displaced people are living in inhuman conditions.

One thing is certain: without a ceasefire and immediate, substantial, and inclusive humanitarian aid, the number of people with disabilities in Gaza will significantly increase, as poorly treated injuries or fractures can lead to lifelong disabilities.

Daniel Suda-Lang, Director of Handicap International Switzerland, recalls the highly complex general context of current humanitarian aid in Gaza, and stresses that this aid must not forget the people who were already disabled before the war, estimated at 21% of the population in Gaza, according to OCHA. People unable to flee and deprived of the goods and care essential to their disability, just like wounded civilians who are therefore disabled.

Maria Marelli, a physiotherapy specialist at Handicap International, shares her experience on the ground and the essential chain of health experts needed for the prevention, detection, treatment, and support of disabling injuries or pre-existing disabilities in a war situation.

Finally, Nicholas Orr, a deminer with 25 years of experience in Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) in Afghanistan, Iraq, Kurdistan, Ukraine, Mali, Jordan, and Kuwait, and an instructor in the British Army. He will share his technical expertise on bombings and explosive remnants of war, their impact on the local population, the assessment of contamination, the expected difficulties in future demining efforts, as well as the need for education on the risks represented by these unexploded weapons.

The press conference will be followed by a Q&A session with the media and the public, and then by an aperitif.

The press conference will be held in English with one presentation in French. Opportunity to ask questions in French to all speakers.

Photo : © S. Hejji – HQ/HI