Emergency response of the UNRWA health programme to Great March of Return injuries: a descriptive analytic study in Gaza

Abstract

Background The United Nations Relief and Work Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) is one of the main healthcare providers in the Gaza Strip. It provides primary health services to approximately 1•3 million Palestine refugees, comprising approximately 76% of the population of the Gaza Strip. UNRWA has well-prepared emergency health plans that are based on previous conflict experiences. However, the Great March of Return (GMR) injuries that UNRWA has faced since Mar 31, 2018, are considered a new experience of emergency. GMR is a protest activity launched by Palestinians in the Gaza Strip to express their right to return to their homes, from which they were expelled in 1948. This study aimed to describe the GMR-related injury patterns in patients and the health services provided as a part of the UNRWA emergency response in Gaza.