A situation” more than critical “. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), northern Gaza is on the brink of “ nutritional crisis »: one in six children under two years old suffers from acute malnutrition, malnutrition described as “ particularly extreme “.
Read also: Israel-Hamas war: more than 30 thousand people have died in Gaza to date
“ It was January. IIt is therefore likely that the situation is more serious today »he said at a press conference Richard PeeperkornWHO representative in the occupied territories of Palestine.
“ At Kamal Adwan, the only pediatric hospital in northern Gaza, the doctors confirmed this to usat least 10 children died of starvation. During our visit we saw at least two malnourished children. According to the Ministry of Health, fifteen children died of malnutrition “, declared Dr. from Gaza. Ahmed Dahir, head of the WHO auxiliary office in Gaza during a press conference in Geneva. He is afraid that the figures are even higher in other hospitals.
More and more children suffer from extreme thinness
In some parts of Palestinian territory, in fact, the situation is even more critical. According to UNICEF, child malnutrition rates in northern Gaza, where access to aid is very limited, are low three times higher as in Rafah, in the south of the enclave, which benefits from a small amount of humanitarian aid. “ This shows that when aid arrives in small quantities, it saves lives », insisted the Unicef spokesperson James Elderspokesperson for the organization.
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But other data alarms the WHO and UNICEF, in particular regarding the extreme thinness of children: ” nutritional assessments carried out in shelters and health centers in northern Gaza revealed that almost 3% of children under 2 years old suffer from it serious deterioration. (…) Wasting was rare in the Gaza Strip, with only 0.8% of children under 5 suffering from acute malnutrition. The 15% wasting rate among children under 2 in the northern Gaza Strip suggests serious and rapid decline “, the report reads.
Furthermore, WHO notes that 90% of children under 2 years old and 95% of pregnant and breastfeeding women face severe food poverty. A situation that also extends to hospital staff and patients, given that they survive with just one basic meal a day.
More generally, the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs estimates that a quarter of the population – i.e. 576,000 people – is on the brink of famine, nearly five months after the Israeli assault on Gaza began.
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Source: Madmoizelle
Mary Crossley is an author at “The Fashion Vibes”. She is a seasoned journalist who is dedicated to delivering the latest news to her readers. With a keen sense of what’s important, Mary covers a wide range of topics, from politics to lifestyle and everything in between.
