Challenges in providing ophthalmic care to children in Gaza.

Background: There are several challenges in providing ophthalmic services to children in Gaza due to the conflict.

Aim: To document the challenges in providing ophthalmic care to paediatric patients in Gaza and offer possible solutions.

Methods: Between March and September 2024, we interviewed 23 children in 4 hospitals in Gaza, aged < 20 years and diagnosed with traumatic and non-traumatic ophthalmic disorder. We assessed their visual acuity, adnexal, anterior and posterior segments, and ocular motility and analysed the data using SPSS version 20. We discussed their cases during the weekly meetings and devised a management plan for each of them.

Results: Eleven (48%) of the children (95% CI 27.42-68.92%) presented with ocular trauma and 12 (52%) with nontraumatic ocular disorders (95% CI 31.08-72.58%). The most common challenge in managing these patients was ineffective communication; it was difficult to obtain relevant clinical information for 52% of the cases. Other challenges included the degraded infrastructure, limited number of trained personnel and inefficient evacuation corridors.

Conclusion: The conflict in Gaza and the lack of facilities to adequately cater to their ophthalmic needs expose children to the risk of developing amblyopia and long-term vision loss. Multifaceted actions are needed to increase access to specialized eye care for the children, including permanent ceasefire, opening of safe evacuation corridors, timely and safe provision of aid, and enhanced medical training for service providers.