According to a report released on Thursday by the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), nine out of ten children in Gaza are unable to access the necessary nutrients from sufficient food groups to ensure their healthy growth and development.
UNICEF stated that months of conflict and restrictions on humanitarian aid in Gaza have led to the collapse of both the food and health systems, resulting in catastrophic consequences for children and their families.
The organization highlighted findings from five sets of data collected between December 2023 and April 2024, revealing that 90% of children in Gaza, which has been under Israeli bombardment since October, suffer from severe food insecurity.
This means they are surviving on two or fewer food groups per day.
UNICEF added that this is a stark indication of the devastating impact of conflict and restrictions on families’ ability to meet their children’s nutritional needs and the rapid rate at which children are at risk of life-threatening malnutrition.
Israel maintains that it does not impose any restrictions on humanitarian supplies for civilians in Gaza and has blamed the United Nations for the slow delivery of aid, citing inefficiency in their operations.
However, with famine looming in parts of Gaza and reports of children dying from malnutrition and dehydration, even Israel’s strongest allies are increasing pressure on the country to take more action to facilitate the entry of food.
For children to meet the minimum dietary diversity necessary for healthy development, they need to consume food from at least five of the eight food groups defined by the dietary diversity score used by UNICEF and the World Health Organization.
These groups include breastfeeding, eggs, dairy products, meats, poultry, fish, among others.
UNICEF reported that 27% of children globally experience severe food insecurity during early childhood, amounting to 181 million children under the age of five.
