The Growing Disability Crisis in Gaza

Funded by Global Affairs Canada, the project "Rehabilitation, Mental Health, Prosthetics and Orthotics in the Gaza Strip" will cost two million dollars and run for 12 months, providing essential rehabilitation services, mental health support, and prosthetics and orthotics to around 8,000 individuals.

Amid ongoing violence, the humanitarian toll in Gaza continues to rise, especially for those with life-altering injuries.

As of June 1, 2025:

• Over 123,000 Gazans have been injured

• 4,000 Gazans have lost one or more limbs

• 6,000 prosthetic devices are urgently needed

• Gaza has the highest rate of child amputees per capita in the world

The 2.3 million Palestinians living in Gaza have experienced an unprecedented number and level of violent and traumatic events, including direct violence, repeated displacement, the tearing of the social fabric, and the loss of loved ones, homes, and belongings. Those experiences have led to increased anxiety, depression, and other mental health and psychosocial challenges.

According to a study published in September 2024 by ACAPS, many adults and children are expressing the wish to die rather than live through further displacement, violence, and deprivation.

A more inclusive humanitarian response

HI will provide a 12-month humanitarian response in Gaza City and Khan Younis. The goal of the project is to carry out lifesaving interventions in priority sectors of need for the most vulnerable and hard to reach population living in the most severe situations.

Through this emergency response, vulnerable individuals, especially women, men, girls and boys with disabilities, will have increased access to emergency rehabilitation; assistive devices; prosthetics and orthosis; and psychosocial support services, improving the protective environment and ability of humanitarian actors to deliver inclusive lifesaving services that respond to individual specific needs.

A more inclusive humanitarian response is achieved through mapping disability-focused organizations, training stakeholders, developing practical guidance, and strengthening referral mechanisms for vulnerable individuals.