WHO 12 May 2025 People in Gaza starving, sick and dying as aid blockade continues
People in Gaza are trapped in a dangerous cycle where malnutrition and disease fuel each other, turning everyday illness into a potential death sentence, particularly for children. Malnutrition weakens the bodies, making it harder to heal from injuries and fight off common communicable diseases like diarrhoea, pneumonia, and measles. In turn, these infections increase the body’s requirement for nutrition, while reducing nutrient intake and absorption, resulting in worsening malnutrition. With health care out of reach, vaccine coverage plummeting, access to clean water and sanitation severely limited, and increased child protection concerns, the risk of severe illness and death grows, especially for children suffering from severe acute malnutrition, who urgently need treatment to survive.
Pregnant and breastfeeding mothers are also at high risk of malnutrition, with nearly 17 000 expected to require treatment for acute malnutrition over the next eleven months, if the dire situation does not change. Malnourished mothers struggle to produce enough nutritious milk, putting their babies at risk, while the delivery of counselling services for mothers is heavily compromised. For infants under six months, breastmilk is their best protection against hunger and disease – especially where clean water is scarce, as it is in Gaza.
The long-term impact and damage from malnutrition can last a lifetime in the form of stunted growth, impaired cognitive development, and poor health. Without enough nutritious food, clean water, and access to health care, an entire generation will be permanently affected.