UN warns of a terrifying rise in the number of child deaths in Gaza

Geneva, (ST) –  The United Nations has warned that alarming food shortages, rampant malnutrition and the rapid spread of diseases are factors that could lead to an explosion in the number of child deaths in Gaza Strip.

Wafa News Agency quoted the United Nations agencies as saying: Food and clean water have become very scarce in the besieged Strip, and that almost all young children suffer from infectious diseases.

UNICEF Deputy Executive Director Ted Chaiban said that Gaza is about to witness an explosion in child deaths, which would double the already unbearable level of child mortality.

For his part, Mike Ryan, in charge of emergency situations at the World Health Organization (WHO), said: Hunger and disease are a deadly combination. Hungry, weak children and those suffering from severe psychological trauma are more vulnerable to disease, and sick children, especially those with diarrhea, cannot absorb nutrients well.

According to a report issued by UNICEF, the WHO and the World Food Program, at least 90 percent of children under the age of five in Gaza Strip are affected by one or more infectious diseases, and 70 percent of children have suffered from diarrhea in the past two weeks, i.e. a 23-fold increase compared to In 2022.

According to a United Nations assessment, more than 15 percent of children under the age of two, or one in six, suffer from acute malnutrition in northern Gaza, and they are almost completely deprived of humanitarian assistance, while 5 percent of children under the age of two in the south of Strip suffer from severe malnutrition.

United Nations agencies indicated that this data was collected last month, and the situation is likely to be more serious now, stressing that this deterioration in the food situation within months is unprecedented in the world.

Raghda Sawas