by Key messages
• Nutritional security is about diets, services and care – and each of these key determinants has a direct impact in the Gaza Strip.
• When humanitarian access improved, it contributed to modest improvements in food security indicators, and in the diets of children (6-23 months old). This was evident during the month of April.
• However, recurrent and forced population displacement since the beginning of the conflict continues to have a negative impact on access and availability. Poor access to the population as well as the inability of the population to access services hinders the detection and treatment of children with acute malnutrition. Displacement also affects care and practices, as people on the move are at risk of losing their assets and experiencing difficult living conditions.
• Due to the recent displacements in Rafah, and the escalation of conflict throughout the Gaza Strip, the diets of young children and pregnant and breastfeeding women have reversed and remain a major concern. them.
Nutritional status
The Nutrition Vulnerability Analysis (NVA) covered April to May 2024, with data collected between April 1 and May 24, 2024. In this current NVA, two major geographic areas were considered in the analysis, separated by Wadi Gaza: North and South Gaza.1
• According to UNICEF’s latest post-distribution monitoring (PDM) assessment, conducted between 20 and 24 May across the Gaza Strip, 93% of children aged 6-23 months ate two or fewer food groups in the 24 hours before the survey, (7% ate three or four), and among pregnant and breastfeeding women, 96% ate two food groups or less. The high level of deprivation in dietary diversity, and de facto micronutrient deprivation, can seriously endanger both women’s health and their children’s development.2
• In the Gaza Strip, 85% of parents reported that their children had gone without eating for an entire day due to lack of money or other resources, and almost 100% of families reported having to skip meals or have less food to eat to keep their children safe. diet, according to the UNICEF PDM made in May 2024.
• Almost 90% of children under the age of 5 are affected by one or more diseases; 52% had diarrhea in the last two weeks; and 54% had fever based on the World Food Program (WFP) CATI (computer-assisted telephone interviews) between 7 and 23 May. Health conditions remain generally poor and can directly endanger the nutritional status of children under 5 and other vulnerable populations, such as children under 6 months, or the elderly.
• Access to health care continues to deteriorate due to the ongoing destruction of health facilities. Despite the humanitarian efforts to mitigate these impacts, in difficult circumstances, approximately 60% of the 97 primary health care (PHC) facilities and 73% of the 56 hospitals (Static and Field) are still non-functional or partially throughout the Gaza Strip. 3
• Household access to safe water is still very limited. According to the Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) Cluster, the available water supply is estimated to be only 2–9 liters per capita per day (l/c/d) compared to 85 l/c/d before October 2023. WFP CATI found that about 80% of households listed “water” as a priority need. This is of particular concern for formula-fed babies, and is a proven risk of an increase in infectious diseases, including diarrheal illness and hepatitis A.
• With small gains in humanitarian access, food security indicators showed a slight improvement in April. However, such improvement is dependent on regular and continuous access to and availability of food and health services. In April, access to basic services and an increase in basic services certainly allowed for the stabilization of nutrition in the South.
• The displacement of more than 1 million people in the South and military ground operations in the North reduced the minor gains achieved in April through the closure, disruption of services and displacement of feeding sites in shelters, health services and hospitals. • In the North, in early April, access to nutrition services was still limited but improved towards the end of the month due to sporadic humanitarian access, which allowed the start of prevention activities, as well as the detection and treatment of acute malnutrition treat early.
Nutrition information system
• The conflict and population displacement across Gaza is extremely dynamic. Collecting and reporting data remains very challenging due to ongoing insecurity and related access challenges.
• Thanks to the efforts of all partners, data collection improved in Southern Gaza in March and April 2024. In Southern Gaza, despite the displacement of populations from Rafah to Khan Younis and in the Middle areas observed in of May, as well as the resettlement of humanitarian people. operations, partners successfully continued screening and remote data collection. In Northern Gaza, access challenges have disrupted the provision of services and disrupted ongoing nutrition programmes. This made it difficult to ensure that children at risk were screened early and regularly for care, which reduced the availability of anthropometric data in March and April. However, by the end of April, in Northern Gaza, nutrition partners were able to provide screening and nutritional treatment services and collect anthropometric data again. Additional data collected between 12 and 25 May in Northern Gaza and Gaza City were provided and both data sets were used to assess the nutritional situation in Northern Gaza. The quality of data is generally improving, and secondary data are available to monitor the situation.
• Partners in the Nutrition Cluster are exploring alternative methods of generating nutrition evidence depending on the different situations. When the situation permits, traditional surveys should be conducted which are better accepted. Although this would be only one point in time, it would at least provide a baseline picture of the nutritional status of children across Gaza that the humanitarian community can use to plan and expand services.
