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Food supply

Gaza on the Brink of Famine: Worst Food Crisis Since Conflict Began

Strategic Insights

— 1 min read

Gaza is on the precipice of a devastating famine, with food consumption and nutrition indicators reaching their worst levels since the conflict began, according to the latest Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) Alert from the World Food Programme. The United Nations World Food Programme, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, and UNICEF warn that time is running out to mount a full-scale humanitarian response to the catastrophic food security conditions in the Gaza Strip, where relentless conflict, the collapse of essential services, and severe limitations on humanitarian aid have led to a grave risk of famine.

Key Takeaways:

  • More than one in three people (39%) in Gaza are now going days at a time without eating, with over 500,000 people (nearly a quarter of Gaza's population) enduring famine-like conditions.
  • Acute malnutrition among children under five in Gaza City has quadrupled in two months, reaching 16.5%, with mothers and fathers powerless to save starving children from a preventable condition.
  • Over 320,000 children under five in the Gaza Strip are at risk of acute malnutrition, with thousands suffering from severe acute malnutrition, the deadliest form of undernutrition.
  • Just to cover basic humanitarian food and nutrition assistance needs in Gaza, more than 62,000 tons of life-saving aid are required every month.
  • Despite a partial reopening of crossings, humanitarian aid entering Gaza is barely a trickle of what the population needs, with only 15% of essential nutrition treatment services currently functional.
  • More than 6,500 children were admitted for treatment for malnutrition in June, with July tracking even higher, and essential nutrition services have collapsed with infants lacking access to safe water, breastmilk substitutes, and therapeutic feeding.

Statistics:

  • 39% of people in Gaza are now going days without eating.
  • Over 500,000 people are enduring famine-like conditions in Gaza.
  • Acute malnutrition among children under five in Gaza City has reached 16.5%.
  • Over 320,000 children under five in the Gaza Strip are at risk of acute malnutrition.
  • More than 62,000 tons of life-saving aid are required every month to cover basic humanitarian food and nutrition assistance needs in Gaza.
  • Only 15% of essential nutrition treatment services are currently functional in Gaza.

Sources:

  • World Food Programme press release citing the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) Alert.
  • Statement by QU Dongyu, FAO Director-General.
  • Statement by Cindy McCain, WFP Executive Director.
  • Statement by Catherine Russell, UNICEF Executive Director.

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