More than 9,000 Kids in Gaza Treated in Hospitals for Severe Malnutrition in the Month of October, UN Reports.
Even with a truce that was announced two months prior, malnutrition continues to take a toll among Gaza’s youth. Recent United Nations statistics reveal that over 9,000 children were hospitalised for acute malnutrition in October by itself.
Even though the direct risk of famine has diminished for most of the 2.2 million Palestinians in Gaza after the truce declaration on 10 October, the UN and other aid agencies report persistent restrictions on their relief deliveries. Officials report these shipments fall well below the needs of a population debilitated and scarred by 24 months of conflict, homelessness, and existing in makeshift dwellings.
“While visiting Gaza's medical facilities, I encountered multiple babies who weighed less than one kilogramme, their small frames struggling with the effort of staying alive,” said Tess Ingram, a spokesperson for the UN child protection agency Unicef.
Disturbingly Large Numbers Remain
Based on Unicef data, 9,300 children were treated for severe acute malnutrition in October. That figure is markedly fewer than the maximum of 14,000 children reported in August, but much more than the child malnutrition rate during the prior halt in fighting in February and March of this year.
“This remains an alarmingly large figure,” Ingram noted, addressing the media by video from Gaza.
In October, about 8,300 expectant and nursing mothers were also admitted for acute malnutrition.
“This development is a stark caution and it is expected to lead to low birthweight babies arriving in the Gaza Strip for many months ahead,” Ingram continued. “This is not over. Entire lineages, among them infants arriving today into this ceasefire, have been forever altered by what was inflicted upon them.”
Aid Deliveries Continue to Be Insufficient
UN organizations report that relief convoys reaching Gaza have grown compared to the peak of the conflict, but are nevertheless wholly insufficient relative to the humanitarian needs.
On average 140 aid trucks a day have crossed so far in December, in convoys organised by the UN and the International Organisation for Migration. This number is well below the goal of 600 trucks a day established under the ceasefire.
These statistics leave out government-to-government assistance and trade deliveries, which have increased more sharply than UN-coordinated deliveries since the truce began. They have brought down market prices for many commodities, but they remain beyond the reach for the great bulk of people in Gaza who have had no income for over 24 months and who have used up all their saved funds.
Operational Difficulties
Since the ceasefire, aid has been organized by a global operations hub referred to as the Civil-Military Coordination Centre run by the US and Israel and involving representatives of other countries supporting the ceasefire. However, diplomats and aid officials say that the Israeli army still has the final say in authorizing shipments into Gaza.
The UN reported that among eight humanitarian convoys planned with Israeli authorities on a recent Sunday, merely four received permission to proceed.
