United Nations: 90% of Gaza’s children do not receive sufficient food for healthy growth

-
The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) said on Thursday that 9 out of 10 children in Gaza do not receive sufficient nutrients for their healthy growth and development, noting that "the hostilities and restrictions on humanitarian aid have led to the collapse of the food and health systems."

It stated that 5 sets of data collected between December 2023 and April 2024 found that 9 out of every 10 children in the Gaza Strip, which has been subjected to violent Israeli attacks since last October, suffer from severe food poverty, which means that they They feed on two or fewer food groups per day to survive.

“This is evidence of the horrific impact of conflict and restrictions on families’ ability to meet children’s nutritional needs and of the rapid rate at which children are at risk of life-threatening malnutrition,” UNICEF explained.

To meet the minimum level of dietary diversity for healthy development, children must consume foods from at least 5 of the 8 food groups determined by the dietary diversity score used by UNICEF and WHO.

Since October 7, 2023, Israel has been waging a devastating war on Gaza that has left tens of thousands martyred and wounded, most of them children and women, and about 10,000 missing, amid massive destruction and famine that has claimed the lives of children and the elderly.