Gaza: Child Health Report – a reminder to us all that 'every child matters' in every country

On the 5th Anniversary of the blockade, MAP launched an in-depth report in partnership with Save the Children on the impact of the on-going blockade on the lives and health of Gaza’s children.

 

There is prolonged poverty and food insecurity in a community torn by political disputes and with health services struggling to recover from conflict. The environment is heavily polluted and people are being squeezed into an ever-shrinking and increasingly unhealthy space with no clean water.

 

The impact on children is alarming:

 

• Stunting, or long-term exposure to chronic malnutrition, remains high, found among 10% of children under five.
• Anaemia, usually caused by dietary iron deficiency, affects most children in Gaza.
• Sanitation-related diseases with serious implications for child mortality, such as typhoid fever and water diarrhoea, in children under three years have increased at clinics serving refugees in the Gaza Strip.

 

The report calls on Israel to lift the blockade as a matter of urgency.

 

This brief account is taken from MAP’s Witness of Autumn 2012.

 

MAP – Medical Aid for Palestinians

 

E-mail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

 

Visit: http://www.map-uk.org/