Radio Cadena Agramonte emisiora de Camagüey
Ramallah, September 12. - Child malnutrition in the Gaza Strip continues to rise today at an alarming rate, a crisis worsened by the Israeli military offensive against the northern part of the territory, UNICEF denounced.
The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) warned in a statement released here that the percentage of children identified as severely malnourished increased to 13.5 percent in August, up from 8.3 percent in July.
In the northern city of Gaza, the percentage was even higher, reaching 19 percent compared to 16 percent in July, it emphasized.
The agency warned that in absolute numbers, 12,800 children were identified as severely malnourished last month, despite the fact that far fewer were examined due to the closure of 10 outpatient treatment centers in the north due to the attacks.
In July, 13,000 children were identified, with much greater detection capacity and significantly less military activity negatively impacting access to malnutrition screening, it noted.
UNICEF indicated that the proportion of children admitted for treatment suffering from severe acute malnutrition (SAM), the deadliest form, has continued to rise since the beginning of the year.
In August, 23 percent of children admitted for treatment suffered from SAM, compared with 12 percent six months earlier, it noted. In August, one in five children in Gaza City was diagnosed with acute malnutrition and needed nutritional support, UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russell warned.
She criticized the ground offensive against Gaza City for the consequences for the population.
With limited or nonexistent shelters and services, the ongoing escalation has led to disproportionate civilian casualties and fueled the near-total collapse of the remaining lifelines children need to survive, she stated.
Russell noted that, in addition to infants, pregnant women are particularly affected by insufficient food intake.
With health professionals forced to reduce nutrition services and little ongoing support available, the risks to both mothers and babies are extreme, she warned.
According to UNICEF, one in five babies is born prematurely or with low birth weight in the Strip.
The organization called for more aid to enter the besieged Palestinian territory and for the rehabilitation of the health system to maintain and revive essential services, including primary care. (Text and photo: PL)
