In final wish, Pope Francis requested his popemobile to be turned into mobile health unit for children of Gaza
In a lasting expression of solidarity with the people of Palestine, Pope Francis, who passed away recently, had in his final wish asked for his popemobile to be transformed into a mobile health unit for the children of Gaza.
"It was his final wish for the people to whom he had shown such solidarity throughout his pontificate, especially in the last years. And in his final months, the Pope entrusted the initiative to Caritas Jerusalem, seeking to respond to the dire humanitarian crisis in Gaza, where nearly one million children have been displaced," Vatican News reported.
In a press release, Peter Brune, Secretary General of Caritas Sweden, wrote that 'with the vehicle, we will be able to reach children who today have no access to health care – children who are injured and malnourished.'
'This is a concrete, life-saving intervention at a time when the health system in Gaza has almost completely collapsed', he added.
The repurposed popemobile is being outfitted with equipment for diagnosis, examination, and treatment, including rapid tests for infections, diagnostic instruments, vaccines, suture kits, and other life-saving supplies.
The mobile health unit will be staffed by doctors and medics, reaching children in the most isolated corners of Gaza once humanitarian access to the strip is restored.
According to Vatican News, the Pope had in his final months entrusted the initiative to Caritas Jerusalem, an organisation which has long served Gaza's communities under difficult conditions.
"Pope Francis often stated that 'Children are not numbers. They are faces. Names. Stories. And each one is sacred', and with this final gift, his words have become action," the report noted.
"With over one hundred staff members committed to healthcare delivery, the organisation is now building on the Pope's legacy of compassion and strength whilst bringing his final blessing to the people of Gaza," the report said.
But "it's not just a vehicle," said Peter Brune, adding that "It's a message that the world has not forgotten about the children in Gaza."
The announcement comes amid reports suggesting nearly 2,90,000 children in Gaza are on the brink of death amid Israel's two-month-long blockade of humanitarian aid into the territory.
According to Gaza's Government Media Office, more than 3,500 children below the age of five years "face imminent death by starvation" while some 70,000 children have been hospitalised in the enclave due to severe malnutrition as Israel has blocked the entry of crucial aid, including food, water, medicines and fuel, into the war ravaged territory.
'Under this systematic blockade, more than 3,500 children under the age of five face imminent death by starvation, while approximately 290,000 children are on the brink of death,' the GMO said in a statement on Sunday.
'At a time when 1.1 million children daily lack the minimum nutritional requirements for survival, this crime is being perpetrated by the 'Israeli' occupation using starvation as a weapon, amid shameful international silence,' it added.
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