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NEW YORK CITY: The reproductive health crisis in Gaza and the West Bank will take “generations” to overcome, a senior UN official warned on Wednesday, citing soaring numbers of maternal deaths, mass malnutrition among pregnant women, and widespread psychological trauma affecting the youth of the territories.

Andrew Saberton, deputy executive director of the UN Population Fund, said after a visit to the region that the scale of the devastation women and girls face is “far worse than expected,” with critical services shattered and entire communities pushed beyond survival.

“Gaza has been flattened, mile upon mile of rubble and dust with few buildings left intact,” Saberton told reporters in New York. “This is not collateral damage and I cannot unsee what I saw. This is going to take generations to heal.”

Saberton painted a dire picture of the conditions for women and girls in Gaza, where one in four people are facing starvation, including 11,500 pregnant women, and 70 percent of newborns are now premature or of low birth weight. One in three pregnancies is considered high-risk.

“These are not isolated medical issues, these are generational threats to health and development,” he said.

Women are unable to access even the most basic menstrual hygiene products, Saberton added. Some resort to cutting up old pieces of cloth, supplies of which have themselves run out, while sheltering in tents or damaged buildings. The Population Fund estimates 700,000 women and girls require menstrual supplies.

With 94 percent of hospitals in Gaza damaged or destroyed, maternal deaths are increasing as a result of lack of drugs, equipment and fuel. Several newborns have to share each available incubator. Ambulance services are “basically non-existent” and some women are forced to give birth in rubble by the side of the road, Saberton said.

The fund delivered a small shipment of medical supplies, including incubators and fetal monitors, last week through the Kerem Shalom border crossing, but Saberton warned this was a “trickle” compared to what is needed.

It has more aid supplies ready for delivery at border crossings, including 200,000 menstrual pads, more incubators, hospital beds and hygiene kits, but access to Gaza remains heavily restricted.

“All crossings must be opened and all impediments removed to allow full, safe and sustained humanitarian access,” Saberton said.

There are an estimated 130 births every day in Gaza but most maternity wards have been destroyed or shut down. The Population Fund plans to help rebuild maternity hospitals, establish new emergency birthing centers, deploy networks of midwives, and provide post-partum kits and medications.

Meanwhile, gender-based violence has “soared” in Gaza, as it does in every conflict, Saberton said. He called for immediate investment in safe spaces and mental health services. The mental toll on the population is immense: up to 70 percent of youths and 40 percent of adults are believed to be suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder.

“This trauma will not be resolved in months or years. This will take generations,” Saberton said.

In the West Bank, he told how movement restrictions and military checkpoints continue to severely disrupt daily life, especially for the estimated 73,000 pregnant women in the territory.

“Pregnant women and their partners are often held for hours and then denied onward travel,” he said. “That can mean life-threatening consequences for both mother and child.”

The fund operates mobile clinics and has established 19 emergency centers to provide support for women unable to reach a hospital to give birth.

Saberton also underscored the wider human toll of the conflict between Israel and Hamas. In Gaza, which has a population of 2.1 million people living in an area of just 363 sq. km, about 250,000 people have been killed or injured, which represents almost 12 percent of the total population.

“To put that in perspective, that would be like 39 million people in the United States dead or injured,” he said.

He also warned of an increase in the number of unsafe abortions as a result of lack of contraception, and said an estimated 170,000 people have urinary or reproductive tract infections, which are preventable and treatable under normal circumstances.

The Population Fund’s humanitarian appeal is currently only about one-third funded, Saberton said, after key donors, including the US, pulled back last year leaving critical gaps.

“Donors are stepping up again but the needs are huge,” he added. “If we don’t act quickly … it’s going to be too late.”

Saberton appealed for sustained international engagement with the crisis: “The world can no longer afford to turn away; not from Gaza and not from the West Bank.

“Women and girls’ lives must transcend mere survival. True peace must guarantee safety, support and agency for every woman and girl to heal and to live their lives in dignity.”

NEW YORK CITY: The US on Wednesday urged the UN Security Council to ease sanctions on Syria, saying this would be a crucial step in efforts to help stabilize the country and support its political transition.
The US permanent representative to the UN, Mike Waltz, told council members the Syrian government must seize the “historic opportunity” created by President Donald Trump’s decision to pursue sanctions relief for the country.
Trump signed an Executive Order in June formally ending Washington’s broader sanctions program on Syria. However, targeted sanctions remain in place against individuals and entities linked to the former Assad regime, human rights violations or narcotics trafficking, as well as other designated groups. The order also mandates a review of specific listings, and authorizes the easing of export controls on certain goods
“We call on this council to support efforts to ease UN sanctions on Syria, including the removal of restrictions on certain members of Syria’s leadership” imposed under prior Security Council resolutions, Waltz told the council members. “Further relief is critical to giving Syria a chance.”
He thanked member states for their “constructive engagement” on the issue and acknowledged the “many challenges ahead” as Syria seeks to emerge from decades of authoritarian rule under the Assad regime. He reiterated that the US supports a Syria that is “stable, sovereign and vibrant,” but warned that political inclusion and accountability will be essential elements of any meaningful progress.
“All Syrians should have a meaningful stake in the country’s governance,” he said. “There can be no progress without this assurance.”
Najat Rochdi, the UN’s deputy special envoy for Syria, also emphasized the importance of lifting economic sanctions, alongside domestic reforms, as an essential step for the success of the political transition.
“Sanctions must be lifted, at a larger and quicker scale, to give this transition a chance,” she said, speaking from Damascus.
Rochdi welcomed US efforts to repeal the Caesar Act, which was put in place by Washington in 2019 and imposed sweeping sanctions on the former Syrian government under President Bashar Assad for crimes against the Syrian people.
However, she warned that the country’s political transition risks falling short of public expectations, particularly among women and minority communities. Only six women were elected to Syria’s new transitional People’s Assembly, out of 119 contested seats, and they were not adequately represented at all levels of the electoral process.
“Women were consistently underrepresented,” Rochdi said, as she called for future elections to better safeguard their rights and representation.
The transitional process in Syria, initiated after a peace agreement this year, is intended to culminate in free and fair national elections. However, Rochdi expressed concern about rushed procedures, low public engagement and weak inclusion of minorities.
The US, Waltz said, continues to support a Syrian-led process for reconciliation, including efforts in the southern region of Sweida, where violence this year prompted the development of a joint road map with Jordan. He also welcomed Syria’s cooperation with the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons, and recent US-facilitated talks between Syria and Israel to help ease tensions.
Syria’s permanent representative to the UN, Ibrahim Olabi, offered a sweeping defense of his government’s domestic reform efforts and international engagement. He described recent developments in the nation as “unprecedented” and called for international support to help ensure sustainable peace and recovery.
He presented what he described as a list of Syria’s “achievements since the liberation” in December last year, highlighting political reforms, anti-drug efforts, and cooperation with international organizations.
Syria is “present, active, listening, engaging in dialogue and taking decisions,” Olabi said.
He hailed the recent parliamentary elections in the country as a landmark moment that represented “the beginning of a new era of freedom,” adding: “More than 1,500 Syrian citizens ran for 119 seats with feelings of joy, hope, support and criticism. Their diverse voices and opinions were broadcast live on official TV channels.”
Olabi also highlighted Syria’s cooperation with international mechanisms for accountability, citing in particular the case of Suwayda region. “We have kept our promise, granting the International Commission of Inquiry unrestricted access and ensuring accountability,” he said, noting a grassroots campaign had raised more than $14 million to support local recovery.
The Syrian government was making “every effort to end the scourge of drugs,” he said, adding that narcotics had been used “as a tool to target the peoples of the region” under the Assad regime. In addition, he reiterated Syria’s cooperation with international counterterrorism efforts, particularly against Daesh.
“Today, we are writing our history with our own hands,” Olabi said. “This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for the international community to continue to be a positive partner in this history that is being written in one of the most ancient places on Earth.”
Oman, speaking on behalf of the Arab Group at the UN, offered strong political backing for the new Syrian authorities.
“We express our full solidarity with the government and people of the Syrian Arab Republic,” the Omani delegate said. “We welcome the national efforts made by the Syrian government to establish security and stability and restore state institutions.”
The Arab Group condemned repeated Israeli strikes on Syrian territory. It accusing Israel of exploiting humanitarian crises and called on the Security Council to act.
“We reject the prevarications that are made by Israel to justify such aggression,” the group said as it called for a “complete withdrawal from the occupied Syrian Golan.”
The group also called for the lifting of sanctions on Syria, describing it as a “humanitarian and economic necessity,” and urged the international community to increase its support for development and reconstruction programs in the country.
“The group stresses that the political process, that is Syrian-led and Syrian-owned, is the only means of achieving sustainable peace,” the Omani representative said, calling for the depoliticization of humanitarian aid, and additional international support for the host countries that continue to aid Syrian refugees.
The group also welcomed the recent elections in Syria, which it said had helped “entrench constitutional life” and marked a step forward on Syria’s “path toward peace, stability, and development.”
The calls for sanctions relief come as the humanitarian situation in Syria remains dire. Ramesh Rajasingham, speaking on behalf of the UN’s humanitarian chief, said more than 70 percent of Syrians need assistance. Drought, displacement and the explosive remnants of war are compounding widespread hardship, he added.
The UN reaches an average of 3.4 million Syrians in need of aid each month, but funding for relief efforts is rapidly drying up. The humanitarian response plan for Syria is only 19 percent funded and various programs, including water deliveries and services that address gender-based violence, face imminent cuts.
“We can do more to help the people of Syria if three conditions are met: deescalation, more funding, and tangible investments in reconstruction,” Rajasingham told the Security Council.
Waltz, the US envoy, expressed optimism for the future, citing Syria’s improving regional ties and increasing interest in reconstruction.
“Syria has before it a historic opportunity,” he said. “The time to act is now.”