Walaa Kayyal, a researcher who lives herself as a Palestinian in Lebanon who was interviewed for this report also confirmed the recent spread of Hepatitis but indicated that it did not concern Palestinians or Syrians specifically:
“Hepatitis A is a communicable disease spread through water. The more polluted the environment you reside in, higher the risk you will get hepatitis A. For Lebanese, they live in bigger houses with better infrastructures but are still getting hepatitis A because their water comes from the same source. Let me give you an example. Last month we went to my mother, who is Lebanese and lives in a village. My brother got hepatitis A from there. My uncle, who is rich and lives in a mini villa, also got hepatitis A, because the water is polluted. But from a public health perspective, when you are more vulnerable, it means you are living in a harsher situation, in a harsher environment where access to services is minimal. When the services are available, they are of a bad quality. So a person who is living in a luxurious place getting hepatitis A and a person who is living in a camp or an informal settlement can both get hepatitis A but the risk of the second and the third are higher than for the first.”
(Source: Walaa Kayyal, interview record, 31 October 2022)
Walaa Kayyal, a researcher who lives herself as a Palestinian in Lebanon who was interviewed for this report also mentioned cases of Cholera:
“We have cholera now in Lebanon. However the Lebanese government is not openly saying how many cases there are and where they are concentrated. As usual, they are blaming the Syrians for transmitting cholera to the country. They say that all the cholera cases are concentrated among Syrians. So you will never know unless you contract it. When COVID-19 hit the country, the Lebanese government also said that it was among Syrians, that they brought it to the country, etc. Then the number of COVID-19 infections started rising and rising and they started to collect data on the nationality, place of residence and age of those infected. So now we have cholera, but I cannot tell you how bad the epidemic is. Until now I heard of 300-something cholera cases and maybe up to 13 deaths from cholera. But I cannot tell you where this is actually concentrated because the Lebanese government does not communicate.”
(Source: Walaa Kayyal, interview record, 31 October 2022)
The Jordanian political economist and long-time commentator on the Israeli-Palestinian dialogue Riad Al Khouri who was interviewed for this report in October 2022 shared his concerns about the spread of a cholera outbreak from Syria to Lebanon:
“There is now a major problem with an outbreak of cholera in Syria. This happened over the last few weeks. The reason for this outbreak is due to polluted water. The water is not clean. This is partly because of the fighting in Syria and the situation of violence and militias and foreign armies and so forth, partly because of the gradual breakdown of public services that has been going on now for decades... [...]”
(Source: Riad Al Khouri, interview record, 7 October 2022)
In its annual report for the year 2021, UNRWA’s department of health wrote about an increase of hepatitis A among the population of Palestinian refugees in the countries where the organisation works:
“Other Communicable Diseases Viral Hepatitis
The Agency-wide incidence of suspected cases of viral hepatitis (mainly hepatitis A) increased from that in 2020; the reported cases from Gaza were at 262 versus 53 cases in 2020, same for Syria at 362 versus 184. At the same time, Lebanon reported 60 cases in 2021. Jordan and West Bank reported 20 and 9 cases, respectively. Agency-wide incidence went up from 10.73 in 2020 to 23.07 per 100,000 in 2021. Such increase is most probably related to poor hygienic conditions inside some camps as well personal related issues, more adherence to cleanliness and personal hygiene measures are required.”
(Source: UNRWA, “UNRWA Department of Health, Annual Report 2021”, 24 May 2022, p. 24)
UNRWA Annual Operational Report 2021, published in 2022, reported that:
“The prevalence of NCDs among Palestine refugees is increasing, with diabetes mellitus (DM), hypertension, cardiovascular and chronic respiratory diseases being the primary cause of death across all UNRWA fields of operation. In 2021, the overall number of NCD patients under care at Agency health centres increased to 291,333- from 283,584 in 2020 - with these conditions being aggravated by an ageing population and sedentary and unhealthy lifestyles. Palestine refugees, particularly the estimated 48,000 PRS in Jordan and Lebanon, remained especially vulnerable to NCDs as those who have fled violence with limited resources endure conditions of prolonged displacement and deepening poverty, and thus struggle to pursue healthy lifestyles.”
(Source: UNRWA, “Annual Operational Report 2021” 27 October 2022, p. 34)
Mental health and psychosocial-related disorders among stateless Palestinians