Malnutrition in Gaza

Why It Matters

The crisis jeopardizes an entire generation’s health and economic prospects, making sustained humanitarian aid and health‑system rebuilding essential for Gaza’s future stability.

Key Takeaways

• Aid blockade caused acute malnutrition rates to jump from <1% to 12‑16%.
• Over 71,000 children needed treatment; 14,000 severe cases reported.
• WHO established ten stabilization centers, seven remain operational in 2026.
• Prolonged malnutrition threatens children’s growth, cognition, and future disease risk.
• Persistent supply gaps and facility damage hinder sustainable pediatric care.

Summary

The Frontline Shift podcast from WHO spotlights Gaza’s spiraling malnutrition crisis, tracing how a three‑month total blockade on food, medicine and essential supplies in early 2025 amplified an already volatile humanitarian situation. Before the conflict, acute malnutrition affected less than 1% of children under five; by February 2025 rates in northern Gaza surged to 12‑16%, with the IPC reporting up to one in five children affected in famine‑declared governorates. Key data reveal the scale: roughly 470,000 people faced catastrophic hunger, 71,000 children required therapeutic feeding, and 14,000 were treated for severe acute malnutrition (SAM). By early 2026, despite a modest easing of famine conditions, an estimated 1.6 million residents—including 101,000 under‑fives—remain at high risk of acute food insecurity. WHO and partners responded by establishing ten SAM stabilization centers, of which seven stay functional, while Med Global’s emergency teams expanded care to children up to 12 years old. Personal accounts underscore the human toll. Dalia Abuja recounted the deaths of sisters Janna and Jury, who despite repeated admissions to stabilization centers, succumbed to complications of SAM. The podcast also highlighted a surge in prematurity (11% of live births) and low‑birth‑weight infants, both linked to maternal malnutrition, and chronic shortages of medical supplies due to crossing closures. The implications are profound: prolonged malnutrition threatens physical growth, cognitive development, and raises future non‑communicable disease risk for an entire generation. Sustainable recovery will require uninterrupted humanitarian corridors, reinforced health infrastructure, and long‑term investment in nutrition and pediatric services to avert a lasting public‑health catastrophe.

Original Description

Before the conflict, malnutrition in Gaza was rare. By 2025, it had become one of the key health issues of the conflict. In this episode, Dr Dalia AbuJahel, WHO's Reproductive Health Officer, and Salwa Al-Tibi, Country Representative for emergency medical team Med-Global, discuss the scale of the malnutrition crisis in Gaza, how it unfolded, and what the response has looked like on the ground.

They speak to the human cost — including the story of two sisters, Jana and Joury, who died from severe acute malnutrition despite receiving care — and reflect on the broader impact on paediatric and maternal health, from rising rates of prematurity and low birth weight to overwhelmed neonatal units and shortages of essential supplies. They also look at what recovery will require, and why the situation, while stabilising, remains fragile.