The United Arab Emirates’ Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Lana Nusseibeh, spoke before the United Nations Security Council over the weekend, bringing attention to a heart-wrenching acronym coined by healthcare workers in Gaza – “WCNSF,” which stands for ‘wounded child, no surviving family.’
Nusseibeh emotionally expressed her deep concern over the WCNSF acronym, highlighting the profound suffering faced by injured children in Gaza who require specialized medical care but have no loved ones to provide comfort and support.
According to Médecins Sans Frontières (Doctors Without Borders), children in Gaza are arriving with severe injuries, often involving burns, which are extremely challenging to treat effectively, even with ample medical resources.
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Lana Nusseibeh’s address comes on the heels of Queen Rania Al Abdullah of Jordan’s similar reference to WCNSF, emphasizing that such an acronym “should never exist” but tragically does in Gaza.
Save The Children, a humanitarian organization, explained that medical professionals in Gaza came up with the term due to the increasing number of children arriving for medical care without surviving family members. Family support is considered a critical coping mechanism for children undergoing trauma, making the absence of family members even more heart-wrenching.
Nusseibeh reiterated that while Israel may be engaged in a conflict with Hamas, it is civilians who are paying the ultimate price. She pointed out that over half of the 2,650 people trapped under the rubble are children, highlighting that these children represent both Palestine’s and Israel’s future.
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Nusseibeh shared a poignant story of a young medical student, Alaa Zaheer Ahmed, who survived an Israeli airstrike that tragically claimed the lives of her family members. She also mentioned baby Talia, whose life depends on a mechanical ventilator amidst a fuel crisis caused by the ongoing conflict.
The diplomat emphasized that the targeted attacks on schools and hospitals by Israel have severe consequences for the most vulnerable populations, including babies, children, the elderly, and women giving birth in unsanitary conditions. Nusseibeh concluded by denouncing the attacks as disproportionate, cruel, and inhumane, stressing that they are causing long-lasting trauma for an entire generation of children and youth.
The speech by Lana Nusseibeh sheds light on the human toll of the ongoing conflict and underscores the urgent need for international intervention and support in the region.
