Latest news with #JeanGough
Forbes
23-05-2025
- Health
- Forbes
UNICEF Delivers For Children As Situation Deteriorates In Gaza
Intensified military operations in Gaza are magnifying the danger for children already suffering from multiple displacements and deprivation. UNICEF remains on the ground, doing what it can to protect and care for children and their families. In an urgent update, Jean Gough, UNICEF Representative to the State of Palestine, shares the latest. On May 22, 2025, Fares Nassar, 8 months old, receives treatment at Al-Awda Hospital in Nuseirat camp after an airstrike targeted the Al-Hasayneh School, housing displaced Palestinians. After 19 months of war and an 11-week blockade on the delivery of all food, medicines and other urgently needed supplies, the situation for children in Gaza is growing more dire every day. Late on May 21, UNICEF and other UN agencies retrieved about 90 truckloads of nutrition supplies, medicines and wheat flour that had been cleared for entry at the Kerem Shalom crossing in southern Gaza. Every aid truck counts, but this is nowhere near enough: more than 500 trucks are required daily to meet families' most basic needs. UNICEF continues to call for the lifting of the blockade, unimpeded humanitarian access and the delivery of essential supplies and services at scale. 'Intensified military operations have forced thousands of families to flee for safety, particularly in the north. Many have lost their homes, family members and access to basic services.' Meanwhile, hundreds have been killed in attacks in recent weeks. As bombardment increases, there is nowhere safe for children to go. In the past two months, more than 950 children have reportedly been killed in strikes across the Gaza Strip. Jean Gough, UNICEF Representative to the State of Palestine, sounded the alarm in an update to colleagues on May 19. "I wanted to share with you an urgent update since we have witnessed the situation in Gaza rapidly deteriorate in the past 48 hours," Gough wrote. "Intensified military operations have forced thousands of families to flee for safety, particularly from the north. Many have lost their homes, family members and access to basic services." On the evening of May 21, 2025, 508 pallets with lifesaving nutrition supplies reached the UNICEF warehouse in Central Gaza. These supplies of ready-to-use therapeutic food (RUTF) and lipid-based nutritional supplements (LNS) are now being prepared for onward distribution to thousands of children in need. UNICEF has the equivalent of more than 1,000 truckloads of supplies standing ready to deliver once they are cleared for entry. With vital support from donor partners, UNICEF remains operational on the ground in Gaza delivering services, despite very low stock levels and extremely challenging conditions. Almost 120 international and national UNICEF staff are active in Gaza, risking their lives to care for children who did not start this war, but are paying the highest price. Many health and nutrition centers have been damaged or evacuated; those that remain open are overwhelmed. Of the 234 nutrition centers across Gaza, 144 are still operational, but stocks of ready-to-use therapeutic food (RUTF) for children and ready-to-use complementary food (RUCF) for babies are almost gone. "Currently we have enough RUTF for less than two months with the existing caseload of children, but the caseload is increasing daily," Gough wrote. Approximately one month of RUCF stock remains, with prioritization for the most vulnerable caseload. Services provided include malnutrition screening, therapeutic feeding, micronutrient supplementation and caregiver counseling. Mobile outreach teams are also being used to reach displaced populations in accessible areas. Related: What Is Ready-to-Use Therapeutic Food? More than 9,000 children have been treated for malnutrition in the Gaza Strip so far this year. Food security experts including UNICEF warned in a recent Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) report that nearly 71,000 children under age 5 are expected to suffer from acute malnutrition in the months ahead: 14,000 of these children are likely to suffer from severe acute malnutrition (SAM), which can be fatal if left untreated. 'Children are already dying from malnutrition and there are more babies in Gaza now who will be in mortal danger if they don't get fast access to the nutrition supplies needed to save their lives,' UNICEF spokesperson Tess Ingram told the Guardian on May 22. Related: Children in Gaza at Critical Risk of Famine On May 12, 2025, more than two months after the start of a total blockade preventing the entry of all humanitarian aid into Gaza, UNICEF teams visit key markets in southern Khan Younis to evaluate essential commodity supply, which is very limited. In recent days, Gough reports, UNICEF's emergency response in Gaza has included support across all sectors: Immunization: 29 social mobilizers and 3 supervisors were deployed to support the continuation of routine immunization where feasible. Vaccines were delivered to Gaza City last week to sustain services in functioning facilities. Neonatal care: UNICEF supported the upgrade of Al-Sahaba and Al-Rantisi hospitals in the north to NICU Level 2 Plus, expanding their ability to manage critical neonatal cases. UNICEF is reprinting 100 updated NICU manuals and preparing training in CPAP management and infection control in collaboration with hospital management. Water, sanitation and hygiene: Despite widespread access restrictions, fuel shortages and security risks, UNICEF continues to support emergency WASH services across Gaza, helping local authorities to sustain critical WASH infrastructure and facilitating water trucking. Solid waste management operations in Khan Younis continue, although volumes collected are approximately half of normal capacity due to safety concerns affecting municipal workers. The central dumping site remains open and accessible, allowing trucks to offload waste. A Palestinian child looks at the rubble inside a classroom at a UNRWA school sheltering displaced people after it was directly hit during an airstrike on Nuseirat camp. Humanitarian cash transfers: Over the past week, UNICEF has provided multipurpose cash assistance in the amount of approximately $270 to more than 7,100 people, including 3,910 children. In the coming days, UNICEF aims to expand its response by reaching over 1,000 children with SAM, combining cash assistance with a dedicated nutrition cash top-up of approximately $143 to help families cover essential nutritional needs. This support will be delivered alongside planned assistance for thousands of families displaced in northern Gaza due to the ongoing escalation. Education: Until May 15, approximately 50,000 children from Kindergarten to Grade 12 were attending UNICEF-supported learning centers three days per week, but this is expected to be impacted in the coming days due to the worsening security situation. Centers had been operating across the Gaza Strip using semi-permanent structures and high-performance tents. Education supplies continue to be distributed or improvised and learning activities are ongoing where possible. Evacuation and safety protocols are in place at all learning centers. UNICEF is currently hiring Health, Safety and Security Officers and distributing First Aid Kits with WHO support for the various education partners. On May 22, 2025, Ayman Abu Hujair, 5, receives treatment at Al-Awda Hospital in Nuseirat camp after an air strike targeted the Al-Hasayneh School housing displaced Palestinians. Child protection: UNICEF continues to deliver emergency child protection services directly and through partners. At this critical time for children in Gaza, UNICEF is focusing on preventing family separation, family tracing and reunification when children do get separated, case management for the most vulnerable children and mental health and psychosocial support, particularly for those impacted by violence in recent days. In addition, urgent cases are being referred for emergency cash assistance. Support is prioritized for unaccompanied and separated children, child survivors of violence including gender-based violence, and those injured or disabled by the conflict. Help UNICEF save more lives. Please donate now. Right now, the lives of the most vulnerable children hang in the balance as conflicts and crises jeopardize the care and protection that they deserve. Dependable, uninterrupted and effective foreign aid is critical to the well-being of millions of children. Please contact your members of Congress and urge them to support ongoing U.S. investments in foreign assistance.
Yahoo
02-03-2025
- Yahoo
Inside the Darién Gap, one of the world's most dangerous jungles
Way back in 'ye olden days' of the mid-2000s, I was still a wide-eyed, fresh-faced backpacker looking to travel the world. The crazier and more outlandish the adventure or destination, the better. I ticked off a lot of epic things from my bucket list in the ensuing years: Swimming with Great Whites in Mexico, kayaking among glaciers in Antarctica, and making a week-long pilgrimage through a thousand years of history in rural Japan. But one thing that eludes me to this day is road-tripping the Pan-American Highway. Thanks to the Darién Gap, that trip may never get checked off my list. I'm just not that crazy. The Pan-American Highway is an epic 19,000-mile route that connects Prudhoe Bay, Alaska, to the southernmost tip of South America in Ushuaia, Argentina. It's continuous except for one small section missing along the southern border of Panama, often referred to as one of the most inhospitable places on the planet — this is the Darién Gap. It's 66 roadless miles of impossibly dense, mountainous jungle and swamp filled with heavily armed paramilitary guerillas, drug traffickers, and some of the world's most deadly creatures covering the border of Panama and Colombia. In an article for the Council on Foreign Relations, Jean Gough, a Regional Director for UNICEF, sums it up: 'Deep in the jungle, robbery, rape, and human trafficking are as dangerous as wild animals, insects, and the absolute lack of safe drinking water.' The environmental impact on the area and the sheer cost of building roads through it have thwarted any previous attempts. Others are concerned that 'the Gap' is a natural barrier against drugs, disease, and undocumented migrants flowing freely into North America and the U.S. The first-ever successful vehicle expedition through the Darién Gap was led by British army officer Gavin Thompson. His team of six started in Alaska, driving all the way to Panama in a newly created Range Rover. Hitting the Darién Gap, he brought in a team of 64 engineers and scientists to hack their way through the jungle and float the Range Rovers across the rivers. But Thompson and every expedition since ran headlong into what the Gap is most infamous for: Lots and lots of things that will kill you. The list of deadly things inside the Gap is lengthy, and dehydration and starvation are the least of your concerns. Instead, you should be concerned with these very real threats. The fer-de-lance pit viper is among the most venomous creatures in the Darién Gap. They're irritable, fast-moving, and large enough to bite above your knees. Antivenom usually solves the problem if you get bitten. But, if left untreated, the venom can cause local necrosis (death of body tissue), leading to gangrene or, in the worst cases, death. Conflict journalist Jason Motlagh crossed the Gap in 2016 for a Dateline story. After receiving his group's antivenom kit and instructions before the crossing, he said, 'If one of us is bitten, we have ten minutes to inject the antivenom before death. We can only carry six vials. If a larger pit viper were to strike, the expert concedes no amount of antivenom would be enough to save us. We might as well lie down and smoke a cigarette until the lights go out.' It's becoming increasingly difficult to bring drugs into the US, so drug traffickers are turning to other avenues. The lawlessness and lack of residents make the Darién Gap a perfect path for smuggling cocaine and other drugs on their journey from South America. The Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) have made a name for themselves since 1964, terrorizing the government and many cities in Colombia. Many from the group have made their home in the lawless jungles of the Darién Gap. A backpacker from Sweden was shot in the head in 2013 and found two years later. Multiple others have been kidnapped for weeks or months after venturing into the Gap. Since a peace deal in 2017 with the United Nations, the group has reformed into an official political party, but a few thousand rebels still continue with drugs, arms, and human trafficking. Spiders fill the jungles of the Darién Gap, but one of the most 'medically important' is the Brazilian Wandering spider. 'Medically important' is the nice term for 'you're going to have a really bad day if this bites you.' This family of spiders (there are more than one!) has a leg span of five to seven inches. They wander the jungle floor at night and love to hide in people's hiking boots, logs, and banana plants. They've been nicknamed the Banana spider, as that's often where people run into them. Bites from this spider can put you in the hospital or, from particularly bad ones, cause death in 2 to 6 hours. Scorpions look like they're from another planet. A few species prefer conditions in Colombia and southern Panama and call the Darién Gap home, including the black scorpion. Black scorpions (Tityus pachyurus) can be two to four inches long and have black or reddish-black coloring, which gives them their name. They live under rocks and logs and hunt for larvae and cockroaches at night. They are part of the thick-tailed scorpion family, giving them their stocky appearance. The sting is very painful but, thankfully, is rarely deadly to humans … as long as you are treated in a safe amount of time. Even the heat in the jungle can put a serious dent in your mood. Temperatures in The Gap can reach a balmy 95 degrees Fahrenheit with 95% humidity, creating a terrible problem if you run out of water. With trips through The Gap averaging between 20 to 50 days, you had better be prepared to stay well hydrated. There's a lot of water in the Darién Gap but it is far from clean. Even a sip can hold a host of viruses or parasites that could ruin the rest of your trip. So, a good water filter is a must. Many kinds of trees call the jungle home, and the local people make use of all of them. The fiber from the leaves of the Chunga Palm is used to make everything from furniture and hats to jewelry and fishing nets. Perhaps that's why this palm has one of the best defenses of any tree in the Gap. Long black spines — up to eight inches long — cover the Chunga to prevent animals from climbing and taking the fruit. Unfortunately for us, these spines are covered in all sorts of bacteria. One brush with a Chunga, and you might find yourself with infected puncture wounds embedded with shards of Chunga spines. During the mid-eighties, Helge Peterson found himself in Colombia trying to complete a motorcycle tour from Argentina to Alaska. But one small problem stood in his way: The Darién Gap. Convincing a young German backpacker to make the journey with him, they started their journey together. They began the 20-day trek hauling Helge's 400-pound BMW motorcycle into the jungle, through rivers and ravines. At the end of each day, tired and broken, Helge and his backpacking partner would set up camp and start the removal of ticks, sometimes several hundred at a time, from their skin and clothing. Ticks in the area can carry Ehrlichiosis or Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever, neither of which you want in the middle of the jungle days or weeks from the nearest hospital. Trench foot was first described during Napoleon's retreat from Russia in the winter of 1812, but the name references a condition most common during World War I. It starts with persistently wet skin that isn't allowed to dry. Wet conditions and limited blood flow cause the tissue to tingle or itch, often turn red or blue, and eventually decay. Any open wounds quickly develop fungal infections. With all of this happening in as little as 10 hours, it doesn't allow much time to fix the problem. Botflies like to get under your skin, literally. They start by laying their eggs on mosquitos. What do mosquitos like to do? Bite humans. This conveniently deposits the botfly eggs under our skin. They then hatch, and the larvae have a nice, warm place to live. Through a small hole in your skin, the larva can breathe. They feed on the flesh in their little skin cave and stay cozy and warm. Once they grow into bumblebee-sized adults, they crawl out to lay eggs somewhere else. If there are many larvae involved, it's called myiasis, meaning an infestation under the skin. Yum. That's why it pays to pack a very good bug spray. During the Cold War, the U.S. military ran thousands of training missions inside the Darién Gap, dropping bombs over the jungle. Most of them detonated. However, some did not. Those bombs have been covered over by jungle growth and are now hidden on the jungle floor under a thick layer of vegetation. Hundreds, perhaps thousands, of undetonated explosives likely still lie in the jungle, waiting for some poor, unfortunate soul to step off the trail — what little trail is there — just a bit too far and set off a massive explosion. The Darién Gap is home to many predators, both human and animal, but one of the most deadly is the American crocodile. Crocodiles are apex predators, with no known natural enemies, and anything that they come in contact with is potential prey. That includes humans. Crocodiles prefer to hunt at night, but they will attack and eat prey at any time of day. They hide in the water near the edge and wait for an unsuspecting animal (or unlucky hiker) to come to the water, and then the crocodile strikes, dragging its prey under the water to drown before consuming. The above-mentioned article for CFR mentions one Haitian immigrant who struggled in the unyielding rain and wet conditions. 'The journey was really quite hard, especially when the rain came. It was just mud, rivers and going up mountainsides nonstop.' In fact, the Gap is among the wettest places on earth, and the intense rainfall can trigger surprise landslides. The worst part is that there is little hikers or travelers through the area can do to protect themselves. It's just a fact of life — and possibly death — inside the Gap. So the Darién Gap sounds downright peachy to visit, doesn't it? The post Inside the Darién Gap, one of the world's most dangerous jungles appeared first on The Manual.
