In Besieged Gaza, Poverty Exacerbates Child Malnutrition Editorial Image

NnHaving a new roof over their heads makes the family among the lucky ones in Hamas-ruled Gaza. But none of them have jobs and they cannot afford to buy healthy fresh foods such as fruit or eggs for the whole family. Even clean drinking water is out of reach. A recent study found that 97 per cent of Gaza`s water supply was unhealthy, but bottled water is beyond their means.nnThe result is that Ms Eljamaal’s daughter Marah, named after her aunt killed in the war, is wasting away. Her mother says she weighs two kilos less than average for her age, is slow to respond and quick to tire – all signs that Marah is chronically malnourished.nnIt is a condition affecting an increasing number Gazans, particularly women and children, after 11 years of living under a blockade. US President Donald Trump’s recent cuts to aid and refugee services, including food assistance, have only pushed a precarious situation further to the edge, according to doctors.nnChildren like Marah are at risk of anaemia, folic acid and vitamin deficiencies, hypertension, chronic dehydration leading to liver failure, and a host of physical, cognitive, and behavioural problems that could affect their entire lives.nnMany more children and adults suffer from malnourishment without visible symptoms or any awareness of the short and long-term damage being done to them — and to Gaza’s future.