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Women in Gaza are struggling to find sanitary products in the war-torn enclave, resorting to unconventional alternatives that doctors say pose significant health risks.
Supermarkets and pharmacies in the coastal enclave have run out of essential sanitary items after 10 weeks of siege, war, and relentless bombing by the Israeli army.
Ola Sameh, 38, was forced to resort to other means. "I used the diapers of my baby," she told the National.
She had stockpiled pads, but the war lasted longer than expected.
"At the beginning, the baby's diapers were in trace amounts, but when aid entered Gaza during the ceasefire days, they brought diapers, but they didn't bring pads."
As Israel's campaign in Gaza has gathered pace, the humanitarian situation in the besieged enclave has worsened dramatically. The United Nations and other world bodies have repeatedly warned of severe shortages of food, clean water and medicines.
A drop in the bucket
A limited number of aid lorries have managed to enter the Gaza Strip through Egypt after being forced into a holding pattern. On Sunday, the Kerem Shalom crossing between Israel and Gaza opened for aid lorries for the first time since the outbreak of war on October 7.
But the aid is not bringing in enough sanitary products.
Mahmoud Musalem, who works in one of the pharmacies in the centre of Gaza, said that birth-control pills and women's pads have been unavailable for a month.
He said that his pharmacy tried contacting the suppliers "to bring more, but they said they're unavailable".
According to the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), more than 690,000 women and adolescent girls in Gaza have limited access to menstrual hygiene products in addition to inadequate water, hygiene, and privacy. This puts them at risk of reproductive and urinary tract infections," the fund said this month.
"We are aware of the scarcity and lack of sanitary napkins. We distribute napkins ourselves, but like everything else we distribute, it is a drop in the bucket," Tamara Alrifai, the UN Palestinian Refugee Agency (UNRWA) spokesperson, told The National.
The International Committee of the Red Cross, ICRC, has also distributed hygiene kits in central Gaza but it is not enough to meet the needs of women.
“Within these hygiene kits, there's sanitary pads and items, dignity items that are specific for women. We know that this is only a small amount of relief," Stephen Ryan, ICRC's Rapid deployment coordinator, told The National.
Women lack access to the basics such as water and being able to go to the bathroom, he said.
“This is making life extremely difficult for women and it's something that makes it very hard for women to maintain their dignity,” Mr Ryan said as he is currently in Gaza.
Noor Al Najjar, an activist who tries to help people by providing them with what they need, from food to medical kits to blankets, said that she and her colleagues are preparing "emergency packages" for women, but were unable to find pads to include.
"Most of the aid that entered Gaza didn't include the pads, and if they succeeded in bringing some aid, it was in small amounts," she added.
Several women are resorting to alternative methods, such as using small towels and washing them. The problem, however, persists with the lack of washing water.
Using these alternative methods also carries a risk of causing blood clots, bleeding, or an irregular menstrual cycle, Dr Islam Abu Samara, an obstetrician and gynaecologist in Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis city told The National.
"Women have come to ask for sanitary products because they can’t find them, and some of them use alternative methods, especially women who are in maternity" and have given birth recently. "But this could impact them negatively and result in infections," the Palestinian doctor said.
“Difficulties in getting access to clean water could also increase infection and diseases," she added.
Desperation from lack of sanitary supplies has pushed some women to appeal for donations on social media.
Bissan Aouda, a journalist and blogger, said that the shortage of sanitary pads in the Gaza Strip negatively affected women psychologically.
"It makes her feel ashamed because she can't say that she needs pads because, in our society, this topic is so sensitive, and people don't discuss it publicly," Ms Aouda told The National.
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Ten tax points to be aware of in 2026
1. Domestic VAT refund amendments: request your refund within five years
If a business does not apply for the refund on time, they lose their credit.
2. E-invoicing in the UAE
Businesses should continue preparing for the implementation of e-invoicing in the UAE, with 2026 a preparation and transition period ahead of phased mandatory adoption.
3. More tax audits
Tax authorities are increasingly using data already available across multiple filings to identify audit risks.
4. More beneficial VAT and excise tax penalty regime
Tax disputes are expected to become more frequent and more structured, with clearer administrative objection and appeal processes. The UAE has adopted a new penalty regime for VAT and excise disputes, which now mirrors the penalty regime for corporate tax.
5. Greater emphasis on statutory audit
There is a greater need for the accuracy of financial statements. The International Financial Reporting Standards standards need to be strictly adhered to and, as a result, the quality of the audits will need to increase.
6. Further transfer pricing enforcement
Transfer pricing enforcement, which refers to the practice of establishing prices for internal transactions between related entities, is expected to broaden in scope. The UAE will shortly open the possibility to negotiate advance pricing agreements, or essentially rulings for transfer pricing purposes.
7. Limited time periods for audits
Recent amendments also introduce a default five-year limitation period for tax audits and assessments, subject to specific statutory exceptions. While the standard audit and assessment period is five years, this may be extended to up to 15 years in cases involving fraud or tax evasion.
8. Pillar 2 implementation
Many multinational groups will begin to feel the practical effect of the Domestic Minimum Top-Up Tax (DMTT), the UAE's implementation of the OECD’s global minimum tax under Pillar 2. While the rules apply for financial years starting on or after January 1, 2025, it is 2026 that marks the transition to an operational phase.
9. Reduced compliance obligations for imported goods and services
Businesses that apply the reverse-charge mechanism for VAT purposes in the UAE may benefit from reduced compliance obligations.
10. Substance and CbC reporting focus
Tax authorities are expected to continue strengthening the enforcement of economic substance and Country-by-Country (CbC) reporting frameworks. In the UAE, these regimes are increasingly being used as risk-assessment tools, providing tax authorities with a comprehensive view of multinational groups’ global footprints and enabling them to assess whether profits are aligned with real economic activity.
Contributed by Thomas Vanhee and Hend Rashwan, Aurifer
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Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
