Action Against Hunger Launches New Project in Deir al Balah
Action Against Hunger, one of the few humanitarian organizations working on nutrition projects in Gaza, has launched a program to prevent malnutrition among pregnant and breastfeeding mothers and children under five years old. Currently, more than half a million children and mothers are in need of nutritional assistance and half of the Gaza Strip’s population — more than one million people — are on the brink of famine.
“We have been working on development programs in Gaza since 2005, but before October, we did not have nutrition and health programs in Ga za, because it was not necessary,” said the nutrition and health coordinator of Action Against Hunger’s emergency team, who just returned from Gaza. “But given the current circumstances, we are doing everything we can as quickly as possible.”
Many malnourished children, especially those two years old, are in need of urgent care. “We are seeing how the lack of food affects their development: their growth rate is not where it should be for their age. Vital organs such as the heart, kidneys and lungs are weakened. They are immunosuppressed and suffer more strongly from infections,” said the health coordinator, who is not being named for security reasons. “In addition, there are children who have not received any vaccinations in the last seven months and who live in very precarious conditions. They have no access to decent sanitary infrastructures. In our hunger treatment centers, we receive them sick, especially with coughs and possible pneumonia, and when we treat them in the clinics, we see they are suffering from malnutrition.”