Approximately 70 percent of Gaza’s population is represented by refugees1; roughly half of this population is unemployed and more than half lives in poverty2The living conditions of many Palestinian in Gaza, particularly in the refugee camps, are substandard. Overcrowding, lack of recreational and social space and lack of access to adequate water, sanitation and electricity supplies are persistent issues that have led to the high number of burn injuries recorded in Gaza every year.

Burn injuries are a public health problem and Gaza’s healthcare system, paralyzed by Israel and Egypt’s blockade, cannot address it without support of aid organization. MSF has been providing burn care in Gaza since 2011, and by 2017 it had become the main provider of outpatient burn care in the Strip. MSF provides holistic care including wound and pain management, physiotherapy and psychosocial support to burn victims and their caregivers.

MSF’s four clinics admit on average 5,000 new burn victims each year. 61 percent of MSF’s burn patients in Gaza are children below the age of 15 and 35 percent are children below the age of five. MSF also supports Al-Shifa Hospital’s burn unit – the main referral unit for all hospitals in Gaza – where 270 patients are treated annually. Most of the burns we treat in Gaza are scalds caused by hot liquid or food, open fire or direct contact burns.

These injuries can have a long-lasting impact on one’s physical and psychological health and socio-economic situation - the treatment process can require prolonged hospitalization and months of follow-up treatment to avoid disfigurement and disability. After the treatment is over, a burn survivor may still face stigma, discrimination or rejection.