Of the 154 malnutrition-related deaths since October 2023 (including 89 children) reported by Gazan health authorities, the World Health Organization (WHO) said 63 occurred in July alone.
These deaths follow a steep drop in food consumption: 81 per cent of households reported poor food consumption in July (up from 33 per cent in April), and 24 per cent experienced severe hunger (up from 4 per cent), crossing the famine threshold, according to the humanitarian update issued by the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) on Wednesday.
Acute malnutrition rates also surpassed famine thresholds in Khan Younis, Deir al Balah and Gaza City.
Given these recent figures, IPC food security experts warned that the worst-case famine scenario is unfolding. However, they added that while the third famine threshold of starvation-related deaths is rising, collecting data remains a challenge.
UN agencies caution that time is running out for a full-scale humanitarian response. 22 per cent of the analyzed population is facing “catastrophic” level of food insecurity, and a further 54 per cent is at “emergency” level.
At the same time, less than 15 per cent of essential nutrition services remain functional.
Original Publication: UN News
