50,000 pregnant women in Gaza unable to obtain basic health services: UNFPA

The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) said Sunday that there are 50,000 pregnant women in the Gaza Strip who cannot obtain basic health services.

The UN agency said pregnant women struggle to secure basic maternal healthcare and 5,500 of them will give birth this month.

The UNFPA’s representative for Palestine, Dominic Allen, told CNN that the healthcare system itself in Gaza is under attack and is on the verge of collapse.

“Imagine going through that process in those final stages and your last trimester before giving birth, with possible complications, without clothing, without hygiene, support and not sure about what the next day, next hour, next minute will bring for themselves and for their unborn child,” Allen told CNN.

He went on to say that the stories coming from the hospitals have been “harrowing,” noting that some midwives were not even able to reach the maternity ward to provide assistance due to the unsafe environment.

Allen called for allowing access for aid and humanitarian supplies into the enclave.