Nutrition Vulnerability and Situation Analysis / Gaza

The link to the full report is at the bottom of this page.

The nutrition situation in Gaza is deteriorating. Over the first 120 days of the current war, there has been a sharp increase in the main drivers of malnutrition – including food insecurity, a lack of diet diversity, deteriorating infant and young child feeding practices, a lack of access to safe water and sanitation, widespread disease, and a collapsed health system.

This has severe consequences for those most vulnerable to malnutrition – namely young children and pregnant and breastfeeding women. Findings from this analysis suggest that the nutrition situation of women and children in Gaza is worsening everywhere, but especially in Northern Gaza where 1 in 6 children are acutely malnourished and an estimated 3% face the most severe form of wasting and require immediate treatment. The nutrition situation is also worsening in Rafah. 

While there are differences in the data across the governorates, it is expected that all areas of Gaza will be affected by malnutrition. The lives, nutritional wellbeing, growth, and development of Gaza’s children is at stake and needs to be urgently protected.

Key findings from the report include: 

• Over 90% of children aged 6–23 months and pregnant and breastfeeding women face severe food poverty. The food they have access to each day is of the lowest nutritional value and from two or fewer food groups.
• At least 90% of children under 5 are affected by one or more infectious diseases and 70% have had diarrhoea in the past two weeks. This unprecedented increase has direct implications on the nutritional status of children under 5, as well as other vulnerable populations.
• 81% of households lack safe and clean water, with average household access at less than one litre per person per day. This is far from the minimum standard of 15L per person per day and of particular concern for babies being fed infant formula. 
• Infant feeding practices – suboptimal before the crisis – have further deteriorated, and an increased number of infants now rely on formula milk for survival. The scarcity of clean drinking water required for safely preparing formula milk will increase young children’s risk of infection and subsequently malnutrition.

                                     Women and children in Gaza require immediate humanitarian access

Overall, the evolution of the nutrition situation will be determined by humanitarian access. Areas with very limited humanitarian assistance and with high burden of disease and food insecurity, are likely to experience a more rapid deterioration in the nutritional status of populations vulnerable to malnutrition – particularly children under 5 and pregnant and breastfeeding women. 

In areas with greater humanitarian access, the speed and scale of deterioration will be continuous though likely slower. This will result in a consistent and constant rise in child wasting, maternal undernutrition, and micronutrient malnutrition. 

Click on the link below to download the full report. 

Nutrition Vulnerability and Situation Analysis