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Babies and toddlers in North Gaza dying slow and painful death from starvation [1]
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Date: 2024-03
Geneva, 15 March 2024 - Over five months after the October 7th attacks and the devastating conflict in Gaza, CARE and its partner organization Juzoor warn that young children in North Gaza are increasingly at risk of dying of hunger and malnutrition. A recent analysis of data of 1,329 children aged 2 and younger in North Gaza shows that children categorized as having moderate or severe malnutrition nearly doubled in the month of February (from 16% to 29%) compared to January.
No one is suffering more in this war than those who have yet to utter their first word. This war is causing an entire generation of children to lose their childhood and future, shares Hiba Tibi, Country Director for CARE in West Bank and Gaza.
Imagine watching your baby perish in front of your eyes, simply because you cannot get her the food she needs? Imagine hearing your children’s cries for bread, but there is nothing you can give them? The situation is simply unbearable, unjustifiable and needs to stop immediately,” urged Tibi . At least 27 individuals (23 of those being children) have already died from severe acute malnutrition and dehydration in Northern Gaza, with the youngest child only a few days old. According to the UN, at least 13,000 children have been killed since the start of the war. This is higher than the number of children killed in four years of wars around the world combined. "We see thousands of women and children in our health centres in the North of Gaza every day," says Dr. Umaiyeh Khammash, Director of Juzoor.
Over the past weeks, we could literally see the children getting thinner and thinner. Many of them are so dehydrated and malnourished, they barely speak and have to be carried by their parents. stated Dr Khammash.
"Mothers and fathers are absolutely devastated, trying whatever they can to keep their young ones alive. Infectious diseases, lack of food and clean water, and the ongoing bombardment are a lethal cocktail for children's health. Our staff are doing a heroic job, but if things don't change quickly, we will see a catastrophic level of death from starvation," concluded Dr Khammash. Juzoor’s analysis also reveals that children under one year old are being hit the hardest and almost every second baby (45%) is malnourished. The data, collected in Juzoor’s health centres as part of an immunization campaign for children under the age of two, is in line with other analyses of the deteriorating nutrition situation, including from the Global Nutrition Cluster. “We hear from doctors who tell us they are losing children every day. The few hospitals who still have incubators for babies will only be able to run them for a few hours every day. Mothers have to watch their child die simply because there is no fuel to run the needed machines,” says Tibi. With no fully functioning hospitals left in the North, many malnourished children are unable to receive sufficient, if any, medical support.
Starvation is cruel. It is a slow and painful death. Hearing mothers tell us how their child’s life is vanishing before their eyes, are the most heartbreaking stories we will ever hear, Tibi expressed.
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[1] Url:
https://www.care-international.org/news/babies-and-toddlers-north-gaza-dying-slow-and-painful-death-starvation
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