AMMAN – On Monday, NGO, ActionAid Palestine stated that thousands of pregnant women are suffering from starvation due to the escalating food crisis in Gaza. While mothers are facing malnutrition, rendering them unable to lactate and breastfeed their newborns, reported Wafa.
اضافة اعلان
ActionAid reported that 71 percent of Gaza's population is currently experiencing acute hunger, while 98 percent of the residents lack sufficient food according to the Euro-Med Human Rights Monitor.
The crisis significantly affects pregnant women, mothers, and their children. There are 50,000 pregnant women and 68,000 lactating mothers in Gaza, according to recent UN data. They urgently need life-saving and nutritional intervention.
Additionally, 7,685 children under the age of five suffer from severe malnutrition, making them susceptible to growth delays, illnesses, and death. While more than 4,000 children are classified as severely malnourished, requiring life-saving treatment.
ActionAid underscored that the average daily water consumption per person in Gaza is only 1.5 liters, covering all drinking, bathing, and cleaning needs. Despite the minimum requirement of 15 liters per person to survive, pregnant women and lactating mothers also need an additional 7.5 liters of clean drinking water daily to maintain their health and the health of their children.
Khatam, a mother who sought refuge in a school in Deir al-Balah with five children, including a newborn, lacks food to feed her children. "There is no water or food to eat. My little daughter is suffering from a skin rash due to lack of cleanliness here. Our situation is very difficult,” she stated “How can we drink water? We wonder if there is enough for us and the children. Of course not! There is no clean water. We can barely fill our stomachs. I also have four other children who want to eat since morning, but there is no bread."
Despite the immense needs in Gaza, the aid entering the strip remains distressingly inadequate. Currently, only 100 humanitarian aid trucks enter through the Rafah crossing daily. Despite the opening of the Karam Abu Salem crossing last week, only 79 trucks were allowed in the following day. Prior to October 7, 500 trucks of aid and supplies that used to enter Gaza every day.
Riham Jafari, the Communication and Advocacy Officer at ActionAid Palestine, said, "We have no words to describe the extent of the horror that the people of Gaza are enduring. All residents suffer from hunger, but pregnant women, lactating mothers and their children are the most affected.
The stories we hear are horrifying. Mothers are forced to watch their children screaming and crying from hunger with no means to help. They are completely helpless."
She added, "Things may get terrifyingly worse. There is no room for wasted time. Hundreds of people in Gaza die every day from shelling, and soon hundreds more will die from hunger and disease. Only an immediate and permanent ceasefire will prevent any further deaths and allow widespread and essential humanitarian aid, including food, fuel, medicine, and more, to enter Gaza. This is urgent and necessary."
Read more Region and World
Jordan News
.jpg)
.jpg)
