Malnutrition in Gaza

Due to months of hostilities and restrictions on humanitarian aid in the Gaza Strip, the collapse of food and health systems has had disastrous effects on young Palestinian children and their families.

According to UNICEF, 1 in 3 children under 2 years of age are experiencing acute malnutrition in the northern region of the Gaza Strip. (Cooper and Ammar)

Additionally, 90 percent of children under the age of 2 and 95 percent of pregnant and breastfeeding women face severe food poverty – meaning they have consumed two or fewer food groups in the previous day – and the food they do have access to is of the lowest nutritional value, according to the World Health Organization.

Yahya is one of the 1.2 million displaced people now living in Rafah in southern Gaza, a city usually housing 280,000. Yahya’s nephew died as a result of severe hunger; a consequence of restrictions on access to aid and commercial goods across Gaza since October 2023. He said: “He got sick due to lack of food and nutrition. He got anemia. He also had special needs. God bless his soul. We will all eventually die. But we should not die this way. It’s not fair to die of hunger.” (Wright)

Acute malnutrition is a nutritional deficit brought on by insufficient consumption of protein or calories. (Dipasquale et al.) Poor nutrition is a result of a number of accumulated factors. Firstly, due to blockades of humanitarian aid, including water, access to clean, drinkable water has been limited. Gazans are receiving 2 to 3 liters of water a day, according to ReliefWeb, which is less than the standard 15 liters per day proposed by the UN. (ANERA) This water is heavily contaminated by seawater and sewage due to the collapse of the wastewater network by Israeli airstrikes and fuel shortages. (ANERA) According to UNOCHA, there are reported serious leakage issues in the two operational pipelines from Israel in the “safe” south of Rafah, one of which is leaking 70% of its water. (OCHA)

Moreover, according to the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification, more the 1.1 million people in Gaza, half the population, experience food insecurity. “According to the most likely scenario, both North Gaza and Gaza Governorates are classified in IPC Phase 5 (Famine) with reasonable evidence, with 70% (around 210,000 people) of the population in IPC Phase 5 (Catastrophe).” (IPC). Famine is classified by the IPC as an extreme deprivation of food.

The contamination of the limited water Palestinians in Gaza receives is detrimental to their health and has increased the spread of infectious diseases. According to Dr Mike Ryan, Executive Director of WHO’s Health Emergencies Programme. ”Hungry, weakened, and deeply traumatized children are more likely to get sick, and children who are sick, especially with diarrhea, cannot absorb nutrients well. It’s dangerous, and tragic, and happening before our eyes.” (Kennedy) Children are the most vulnerable to diseases brought by contaminated water, including dehydration, organ failure, nausea, vomiting, fever, and diarrhea. As illustrated by the World Health Organization, such symptoms can impact an individual’s ability to absorb nutrients, leaving a population of 2.2 million Palestinians at risk of malnutrition. Moreover, according to the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification, more the 1.1 million people in Gaza, half the population, experience food insecurity. Children frequently experience various issues after severe acute malnutrition sets in. When a child is very malnourished, their immune system starts to malfunction, which can make even seemingly harmless illnesses like diarrhea potentially fatal. Due to widespread displacement and unsanitary conditions made worse by the loss of sanitation infrastructure, diarrhea is currently rife in Gaza, affecting even newborns and six-month-old infants. (Wright)

So, what is the solution?

UNICEF, WFP, and WHO demand that humanitarian aid be delivered to the Gaza Strip immediately, with secure, unhindered, and continuous access. For malnourished and at-risk women and children to securely obtain health and nutrition care and treatment services, this includes nourishing foods, nutrition supplies, and vital services, especially for newborns and young children under five. Young children who are malnourished require therapeutic milk and ready-to-use therapeutic food (RUTF), which are both easily ingested and high in nutrients. They also require medical facilities, skilled medical personnel who can identify and treat malnutrition, and necessary medications like antibiotics. For hospitals and medical personnel to safely deliver vital care and treatment, they must be protected against attack. The best hope to save lives and put a stop to poverty in Gaza remains an immediate humanitarian

ceasefire.

References:

ANERA. “Gaza’s Water Crisis Puts Thousands at Risk of Preventable Death - Occupied Palestinian Territory | ReliefWeb.” Reliefweb.int, 8 Nov. 2023, reliefweb.int/report/occupied-palestinian-territory/gazas-water-crisis-puts-thousands-risk-preventable-death.

Cooper, Kurtis, and Ammar Ammar. “Acute Malnutrition Has Doubled in One Month in the North of Gaza Strip: UNICEF.” Www.unicef.org, 15 Mar. 2024,www.unicef.org/press-releases/acute-malnutrition-has-doubled-one-month-north-gaza-strip-unicef.

Dipasquale, Valeria, et al. “Acute Malnutrition in Children: Pathophysiology, Clinical Effects and Treatment.” Nutrients, vol. 12, no. 8, Aug. 2020, p. 2413, https://doi.org/10.3390/nu12082413.

IPC. “GAZA STRIP: Famine Is Imminent as 1.1 Million People, Half of Gaza, Experience Catastrophic Food Insecurity | IPC - Integrated Food Security Phase Classification.” Www.ipcinfo.org, Dec. 2023,www.ipcinfo.org/ipcinfo-website/alerts-archive/issue-97/en/.

Kennedy, Frances. “Children’s Lives Threatened by Rising Malnutrition in the Gaza

Strip.” Www.who.int, 19 Feb. 2024, www.who.int/news/item/19-02-2024-children-s-lives-threatened-by-rising-malnutrition-in-the-gaza-strip.

OCHA. “Occupied Palestinian Territory | OCHA.” Www.unocha.org, 12 Oct. 2023,

www.unocha.org/occupied-palestinian-territory.

Samie-Jacobs, Nadia. “1 in 4 Children Globally Live in Severe Child Food Poverty due

to Inequity, Conflict, and Climate Crises – UNICEF.” Www.unicef.org, 5 June 2024,www.unicef.org/press-releases/1-4-children-globally-live-severe-child-food-poverty-due-inequity-conflict and#:~:text=Five%20rounds%20of%20data%20collected. Accessed 7 June 2024.

Wright, Ruby. “‘IT’S NOT FAIR to DIE of HUNGER’ - the LIVES of MALNOURISHED CHILDREN in GAZA ENDANGERED by OBLITERATION and OBSTRUCTION of MEDICAL CARE.” Save the Children, 2 Apr. 2024, www.savethechildren.net/news/it-s-not-fair-die-hunger-lives-malnourished-children-gaza-endangered-obliteration-and.