Before the current conflict, which began last October, less than one percent of Gaza children under five years old were severely malnourished, but the blockade and war caused catastrophic food insecurity, the NGO Action Against Hunger said in a statement. .
During our recent visit to the territory we saw many malnourished children, who need urgent attention, said the group’s health and nutrition coordinator, whose name was not published for security reasons.
“We are seeing how the lack of food affects their development: their growth rate is not adequate, vital organs such as the heart, kidneys and lungs are weakened,” he stressed.
Likewise, he warned that many of them did not receive any vaccine in the last seven months.
In our hunger treatment centers, we receive them sick, especially with cough and possible pneumonia, and when we treat them in the clinics, we see that they suffer from malnutrition, he indicated.
He stated that the imminent risk of famine in Gaza could be avoided if humanitarian aid could enter unimpeded through all land crossings, most closed by Israel.
However, he warned, without a permanent ceasefire, famine remains imminent.
ode/rob
