Source: Save the Children
More than four in 10 (43%) pregnant and breastfeeding women seeking treatment at Save the Children’s clinics in Gaza in July were malnourished, said Save the Children. Some breastfeeding mothers are feeling so desperate and scared of dying, they are asking for infant formula to protect their infants if they are orphaned, said Save the Children.
Of the 747 women Save the Children screened during the first half of July, 323 (43%) were malnourished [1] – potentially impacting their ability to care for their newborns – which was almost three times as many as in March when the Government of Israel reimposed a total siege on Gaza.
Since April, staff at Save the Children’s two primary healthcare centres operating in Gaza have reported monthly increases in the number of pregnant and breastfeeding women found to be malnourished, with food, water and fuel almost entirely unavailable. Poor nutrition and malnutrition during pregnancy can cause anaemia, pre-eclampsia, haemorrhage and death in mothers, lead to stillbirth, low birthweight, stunted growth and developmental delays for children.
Without breastfeeding support, mothers are reportedly giving their babies bottles of water or water mixed with ground chickpeas or tahini, which can increase risk of malnutrition.
Health experts globally promote breastfeeding to protect child health and improve survival, especially in the first months of life. In addition to essential nutrition, it provides antibodies that protect against common illnesses like diarrhoea, pneumonia and infections. But in Gaza, there have been reports of mothers struggling to produce breastmilk amid severe hunger, stress, dehydration and a lack of privacy caused by multiple displacements.
There are 55,000 pregnant women in Gaza, according to United Nations Population Fund [3]. More than 70,000 children under five and 17,000 pregnant or breastfeeding women are facing acute malnutrition, according to the global humanitarian authority on hunger crises, the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) [4] which warned “the worst-case scenario of famine is currently playing out” in Gaza.
Ahmad Alhendawi, Save the Children’s Regional Director for the Middle East, North Africa and Eastern Europe, said:
“Mothers are arriving at our clinics hungry, exhausted, and terrified their babies won’t survive. Some are asking for formula so their baby can still be fed if they die. These are realities no mother should ever have to face.
“We know extreme stress can disrupt breastfeeding, and the relentless airstrikes, and obviously being in a war zone brings on a huge amount of distress – displacement and hunger in Gaza are taking a devastating toll on mothers. Many women are malnourished themselves yet still trying to nourish their babies. Supporting mothers to breastfeed can be a life-saving intervention for both mother and child.
“When babies have no food, their bodies will start to shut down after a few days. They stop eating, lose energy, and start to waste away. Eventually their organs begin to fail and they become dangerously vulnerable to infection. Malnutrition is treatable and children can recover, but only if we reach them in time. The siege on entry of aid into Gaza must be urgently lifted. With sufficient, safe, and predictable entry processes and routes, humanitarian organisations know how to get the right assistance to people in time to save lives. Anything else, anything less, is a dangerous distraction that is costing mothers their babies, babies their mothers and, in the “best case” scenario, undermining children’s growth, development, and futures. If the world does not act now, more children will die from this preventable, man-made crisis.”
The Gaza Ministry of Health has reported that 180 people have died of malnutrition-related causes since the start of the war in October 2023, including 93 children with at least 25 of these children dying in July as malnutrition rises on a dangerous trajectory.
Save the Children is calling on the Government of Israel to uphold their obligations under international law and allow total access for all aid including breastfeeding support and, in the case of those who have no other option, the entry of infant formula and the essential supplies and services required for their regulated, targeted use in a way that is as hygienic as possible. Infants already devastated by war must not be left without the means to survive. Infant formula and the supplies required to administer it in a hygienic way, like all aid, has been restricted from entering Gaza due to the Israeli government-imposed siege on supplies.
Save the Children has been working in Gaza for decades, running primary healthcare centres and providing essential services to children, mothers, and families, including screening and treatment for malnutrition. We are ready to scale-up lifesaving aid alongside our partners. Our teams deliver water, run child-friendly spaces and mother and baby areas where pregnant and breastfeeding women can receive support on nutrition and infant feeding and psychosocial care. We also set up temporary learning centres to help children continue their education.
