Children’s lives threatened by rising malnutrition in the Gaza Strip

The ongoing conflict in the Gaza Strip is pushing children to the brink of a preventable nutrition catastrophe. A new report from the Global Nutrition Cluster paints a grim picture of rapidly deteriorating conditions for women and children in the besieged territory.

As the hostilities enter their 20th week, food and safe water have become incredibly scarce, diseases are widespread, and nutrition levels have plummeted. This has severely compromised the immunity and nutrition of children and pregnant/breastfeeding mothers, resulting in a surge of acute malnutrition that threatens thousands of young lives.

The situation is most extreme in northern Gaza, which has been cut off from aid for weeks. Nutrition screenings at shelters and health centers there found 15.6% of children under 2 years old are acutely malnourished, including almost 3% suffering from severe wasting – the deadliest form of malnutrition that heightens risks of complications and death without urgent treatment.

With data collected in January, the true current rates are likely even higher after months of unrelenting deprivation. In contrast, screenings in the south around Rafah, which has received more aid, showed 5% of young children are acutely malnourished. This stark difference underscores both the critical role of humanitarian access and the severe threats facing children across all of Gaza if aid cannot reach them.

“The Gaza Strip is poised to witness an explosion in preventable child deaths which would compound the already unbearable level of child deaths,” said UNICEF Deputy Executive Director Ted Chaiban. “We’ve been warning for weeks that Gaza is on the brink of a nutrition crisis. If the conflict doesn’t end now, children’s nutrition will continue to plummet, leading to preventable deaths or lifelong health issues with potential intergenerational consequences.”

Malnutrition’s Rapid Rise Unprecedented

Before the latest hostilities, acute childhood malnutrition in Gaza was extremely rare at just 0.8% for children under 5. The 15.6% wasting rate among under-2s in the north represents a sudden and shocking decline unlike anything seen globally.

Humanitarian agencies warn the crisis could rapidly intensify across Gaza if the desperate lack of food, water, healthcare, and nutrition services continues:

• 90% of children under 2 and 95% of pregnant/nursing mothers face severe food poverty, consuming just 2 or fewer food groups per day with access only to nutritionally deficient items.
• 95% of households are limiting meal sizes and portions, with 64% eating only once daily.
• Over 95% of families said they restrict adult food intake to prioritize feeding their children.
• On average, households have access to less than 1 liter of safe drinking water per person per day – far below the 3 liter emergency minimum and only a fraction of the 15 liter overall standard for drinking, cooking, and hygiene.

The steep rise in malnutrition in Gaza is dangerous and entirely preventable,” said WFP’s Valerie Guarnieri. “Children and women need continuous access to healthy foods, clean water, and health and nutrition services. We urgently need decisive security improvements, sustained humanitarian corridors, and more entry points to get aid into Gaza.

Malnutrition Compounds Disease Risks

Diarrheal and other infectious diseases are also spiking as malnutrition weakens immune systems. At least 90% of children under 5 suffer from one or more diseases, with 70% afflicted by diarrhea in the prior two weeks – a 23-fold increase from 2022 baselines.

“Hunger and disease are a deadly combination,” said Dr. Mike Ryan of WHO’s Health Emergencies Programme. “Hungry, weakened, and traumatized children are far more susceptible to sickness. And sick children – especially with diarrhea – struggle to absorb nutrients. It’s a dangerous, tragic cycle unfolding before our eyes.”

With most health, water, and sanitation infrastructure degraded, the agencies warn the nutrition and public health emergencies will rapidly intensify without urgently expanded humanitarian assistance. Functioning services must be reinforced and protected to stem disease transmission and moderate malnutrition’s impacts.

UNICEF, WFP, and WHO insist safe, sustained, and unimpeded aid access is immediately required to deliver nutritious foods, medicines, nutrition supplies, and critical care to at-risk children and mothers. Hospitals and health workers must also be safeguarded to provide life-saving treatment. The agencies reiterate that only a humanitarian ceasefire can provide the best chance to save lives and alleviate suffering.