Impact of Conflict on Gazan Children with Heart Disease (2025-2026)

Armed conflict poses severe threats to civilian health, particularly for vulnerable groups like children. While direct violence against the Gazan population has dominated headlines, not enough attention has been given to a critical cohort: hundreds of children born with congenital heart disease since October 2023. Historically, these children relied on special travel permissions to receive life-saving surgical interventions in Israel or from visiting non-governmental organizations’ (NGO) medical teams. Since the onset of war, border crossings have halted entirely and no external surgical teams have entered the region. 

Building on the work of an earlier project team and leveraging long-standing partnerships with NGOs and Israeli medical centers, this team focused on analyzing Global Burden of Disease data to evaluate disease prevalence, mortality and disability trends, alongside the economic loss incurred from cessation of care due to conflict for this patient population. 

Using these analyses, the team drafted a manuscript presenting the study’s methodology, key results, implications for child health policy, healthcare planning and future research aimed at improving outcomes for children with congenital heart disease in Gaza. 

Disease Burden and Economic Impact Attributable to the Gaza Conflict for Children with Congenital Heart Disease: A Population-Based Modeling Study (Draft manuscript in progress) 

Epidemiologic and Economic Evaluation of Disrupted Congenital Heart Disease Care in Gaza (Poster presentation at the Fortin Foundation Bass Connections Showcase, April 15, 2026)