'Gaza's hungry childrenby Eric Beauchemin
The Gaza Strip has been under an Israeli blockade since the Islamic group Hamas seized control of the territory last year. But since early November, Israel has completely sealed off the territory in response to Palestinian rocket attacks.
It has opened the border only three times to allow in essential humanitarian aid. UNRWA, the United Nations relief agency that distributes food to half of Gaza's 1.5 million residents, says it will soon run out of supplies. But even before the closure, many children in Gaza were going hungry.
Eric Beauchemin reports:
It has opened the border only three times to allow in essential humanitarian aid. UNRWA, the United Nations relief agency that distributes food to half of Gaza's 1.5 million residents, says it will soon run out of supplies. But even before the closure, many children in Gaza were going hungry.
Eric Beauchemin reports:
Some 60 mothers with their babies and small children are crammed into a room at a feeding centre near the centre of Gaza City. Many of the children are severely malnourished, with some even suffering from rickets and anaemia.
They remind me of babies and children I have seen in war zones in Africa.
One of the mothers who comes here every other day with her daughter is 34-year-old Faria al Bobali.
"My 10-month-old daughter is malnourished and much too small for her age. I used to breastfeed her, but I had to stop because I myself am malnourished.
UNRWA started giving me milk for her and my other children, but then they stopped providing this milk.
Now I buy a bit of yoghurt whenever I can afford it. When I don't have any money, I break up little pieces of bread and soak them in tea. That's what I have to feed my daughter."
Rising malnutrition
Faria al Bobali's husband lost his job six years ago, and the family depends on handouts from the United Nations to survive. But the UN only provides 60 percent of people's daily needs. And with nine out of ten Gazans living below the poverty line, people simply can't afford to feed their - often large - families.
Independent research backs up what the director of the feeding centre, Dr Adnan Alwahaidi (pictured left), is seeing: alarming levels of malnutrition amongst babies in Gaza.
"We found that there is an unprecedented increase in stunting in Palestinian children aged between 6 and 36 months. It's now reached 10.4 percentage, whereas a decade ago it was half that amount.
I'm mentioning stunting because it's the best indicator of a child's chronic exposure to malnutrition. It gives you the clear picture on how severely malnutrition is affecting children and how long this has been going on."
Long-term effects
The International Red Cross says that chronic malnutrition is increasing throughout the Gaza Strip. In a report leaked last month, it said that Gazans are cutting the quality and quantity of meals, and this is leading to alarming deficiencies in iron and vitamins A and D.
All this, in turn, says the Red Cross, could affect people's health and well-being in the long term. Dr Alwahaidi is particularly concerned about the effects on Gaza's children. "A child with malnutrition - whether mild, moderate or severe malnutrition - is prone to a wide variety of illnesses because their immune system is poor.
They are more likely to suffer from chronic illnesses that will affect their life quality and their productivity in future. This will have untold consequences for Gaza and its people. These malnourished children need support now."
"Since the siege there is much less produce available, and prices have increased dramatically. A kilo of tomatoes, for instance, now costs three times more than in May 2007."
Most people can no longer afford to purchase fresh fruit and vegetables because 90 percent of Gazans now live under the poverty line.'
They remind me of babies and children I have seen in war zones in Africa.
One of the mothers who comes here every other day with her daughter is 34-year-old Faria al Bobali.
"My 10-month-old daughter is malnourished and much too small for her age. I used to breastfeed her, but I had to stop because I myself am malnourished.
UNRWA started giving me milk for her and my other children, but then they stopped providing this milk.
Now I buy a bit of yoghurt whenever I can afford it. When I don't have any money, I break up little pieces of bread and soak them in tea. That's what I have to feed my daughter."
Rising malnutrition
Faria al Bobali's husband lost his job six years ago, and the family depends on handouts from the United Nations to survive. But the UN only provides 60 percent of people's daily needs. And with nine out of ten Gazans living below the poverty line, people simply can't afford to feed their - often large - families.
Independent research backs up what the director of the feeding centre, Dr Adnan Alwahaidi (pictured left), is seeing: alarming levels of malnutrition amongst babies in Gaza.
"We found that there is an unprecedented increase in stunting in Palestinian children aged between 6 and 36 months. It's now reached 10.4 percentage, whereas a decade ago it was half that amount.
I'm mentioning stunting because it's the best indicator of a child's chronic exposure to malnutrition. It gives you the clear picture on how severely malnutrition is affecting children and how long this has been going on."
Long-term effects
The International Red Cross says that chronic malnutrition is increasing throughout the Gaza Strip. In a report leaked last month, it said that Gazans are cutting the quality and quantity of meals, and this is leading to alarming deficiencies in iron and vitamins A and D.
All this, in turn, says the Red Cross, could affect people's health and well-being in the long term. Dr Alwahaidi is particularly concerned about the effects on Gaza's children. "A child with malnutrition - whether mild, moderate or severe malnutrition - is prone to a wide variety of illnesses because their immune system is poor.
They are more likely to suffer from chronic illnesses that will affect their life quality and their productivity in future. This will have untold consequences for Gaza and its people. These malnourished children need support now."
"Since the siege there is much less produce available, and prices have increased dramatically. A kilo of tomatoes, for instance, now costs three times more than in May 2007."
Most people can no longer afford to purchase fresh fruit and vegetables because 90 percent of Gazans now live under the poverty line.'
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