How Malnutrition in Gaza is Affecting Children – Stimulife Health Blog

Immediate Impacts on Children in Gaza

• Severe spike in acute malnutrition
  In July 2025, nearly one in five children under five in Gaza City was acutely malnourished. The rate has tripled since June 2025. Children with Severe Acute Malnutrition (SAM) requiring hospital admission surged—over 5,000 admitted mid-month, with 18% presenting SAM, overwhelming treatment centers. World Health Organization
• Daily arrival of critically ill children
  At hospitals like Nasser in Khan Younis, 10–20 severely malnourished children are arriving daily. Many arrive too late; tragically, some like 2½-year-old Ro’a Mashi die without preexisting conditions. AP News
• Thousands hospitalized and growing famine
  Reports indicate 20,000+ children have been admitted for acute malnutrition, with 3,000 critically ill, and 16 children under five dying from hunger-related causes since mid-July. Action Against Hunger Canada
  The situation has escalated into famine-like conditions, with one in five under-fives malnourished and over 5,000 diagnosed just in May. TIME
  The Gaza Strip is facing one of the world’s worst famines, deeply affecting children. TIME+1

Why Children Bear the Brunt

• High vulnerability due to weakened immunity
  Malnutrition weakens the immune system, leading to rampant infections. Diseases like diarrhea, hepatitis, and respiratory illnesses are rampant in children, with up to 90% experiencing illness, and 70% having diarrhea in recent weeks. World Health OrganizationUNICEF SwitzerlandForbes
  Malnourishment significantly increases the risk from otherwise manageable illnesses. Wikipedia
• Stunted growth and physical damage
  Children suffer from stunted growth, weakened hearts (the body breaks down muscle, including heart muscle), and increased risk of organ failure. ForbesWIREDWikipedia
• Delayed wound healing
  Malnutrition undermines the body’s ability to heal wounds—critical issues in a war zone filled with injuries. TIME

Long-Term Consequences

• Cognitive impairment and educational hurdles
  Chronic malnutrition in early childhood leads to reduced IQ, impaired learning, and poor school performance, potentially resulting in lifelong economic hardship. TIMEForbesWikipedia
• Mental health and behavioral effects
  Apart from cognition, malnutrition increases risks of anxiety, depression, PTSD, and other mental health disorders. TIMECSIS
• Increased risk of chronic diseases
  Survivors are more likely to develop cardiovascular conditions, diabetes, obesity, and other chronic health issues later in life, partly due to early-life metabolic changes. ReutersCSISWikipedia
• Generational impacts
  The effects of famine can ripple across generations, with epigenetic changes due to prenatal or early childhood malnutrition affecting future offspring. CSISWIRED

Summary Table

What These Findings Mean

Children in Gaza are experiencing a humanitarian emergency that is both immediate and long-lasting:

• Without urgent, sustained access to therapeutic nutrition, clean water, health services, and safe conditions, the death toll will continue rising.
• Survivors of severe malnutrition are likely to face lifelong physical, cognitive, and emotional challenges.
• The crisis threatens not just individual futures but the broader social and economic resilience of Palestinian communities.

Children in Gaza need life-saving support

UNICEF