“The situation in Gaza is the most challenging I have ever witnessed. We urgently need Manchester’s help.”
Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham has thrown his support behind an emergency fundraising campaign by UK-Med, the Manchester-based frontline medical charity providing life-saving care in Gaza.
Since arriving in Gaza in January 2024, UK-Med has delivered hundreds of thousands of medical consultations to Palestinians enduring unimaginable conditions. Working in one of the world’s most dangerous and under-resourced healthcare environments, the organisation has helped establish and lead operations at two emergency field hospitals in the region, as well as supporting a third.
At UK-Med’s largest facility in Al Mawasi, up to 1,000 patients are treated daily. The field hospital includes an emergency department, an operating theatre, an inpatient ward, and a maternal and child health unit. A second site in Deir al-Balah sees around 400 patients a day and functions as a community health centre, managing chronic illnesses like hypertension and diabetes, conditions made far more dangerous by the lack of reliable medication, clean water, and food. In addition, UK-Med provides crucial support to the emergency department of the Nasser Medical Complex, one of the few remaining operational hospitals in southern Gaza.
Founded in 1988, UK-Med was developed by a group of NHS clinicians from South Manchester who travelled to Armenia in the aftermath of a devastating earthquake. Since then, the charity has responded to crises around the world, from Ukraine to Lebanon to the Democratic Republic of Congo. Its approach is clear and consistent, to provide neutrality, medical expertise, and a deep commitment to saving lives in conflict and disaster zones.
Currently, UK-Med’s operations in Gaza cost around £1 million per month. Until recently, much of this has been funded by the UK’s Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office and the World Health Organisation. But that support is now ending, prompting the launch of an urgent appeal to keep the hospitals running.
“We’re at a critical tipping point,” said Holly Smith, who leads the organisation’s Gaza Appeal. “We’ve launched an emergency fundraising campaign to keep the hospitals running. Even small donations matter, £35 can fund a single consultation. That consultation could be life-saving.”
Andy Burnham supports UK-Med’s work, calling for urgent action in a campaign video. “The suffering of the people of Gaza is beyond words,” he says, “with many living without the most basic essentials and often without access to medical care.
“Organisations like UK-Med, based right here in Manchester, are doing extraordinary work to keep the last functioning hospitals going and saving lives every day.
“Their presence on the ground speaks to the values we hold in Greater Manchester: compassion, solidarity, and standing by people in their time of need.”
David Wightwick, CEO of UK-Med, added: “Our teams are seeing injuries on a scale that is hard to describe – and they are doing so without basic resources like anaesthetics, antibiotics, or clean water. Gaza’s health system is on the brink of total collapse. We are doing everything we can to keep people alive – but we cannot do it alone.”
He continued: “Our heartfelt thanks go to the Mayor of Greater Manchester for his continued support for people caught in conflict, including our work in Ukraine and now in Gaza. The situation in Gaza is the most challenging I have ever witnessed. We urgently need Manchester’s help.”
UK-Med is internationally recognised for its medical expertise and rapid deployment to some of the world’s toughest environments. In Gaza, it faces one of the most urgent medical emergencies in its history. The organisation remains firmly neutral, taking no sides, only action to save lives.
Image credit – UK-Med Facebook screenshot
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