The ocean of the normal child’s arm, two years old, is about 15.2 cm. These six inch consist of layers of bones, muscles and fats.
And when the circumference of the arm of a child is 5 years old or less, less than 11.4 cm, this is a sign that he suffers from severe malnutrition. When children start hunger, they start burning fat reserves to keep their jobs. When these reserves are exhausted, their bodies begin to met other sources of energy to survive. And when the child’s arm becomes so thin, the body consumes its muscles and bones.
The Gaza Strip, where Israel has imposed restrictions on the entry of aid throughout the war, the highest levels of malnutrition since the start of the Israeli genocide war on the Gaza Strip.
A committee of food security experts, with the support of the United Nations, stated that the largest city in Gaza was officially in a state of famine in July, when 16% of the children who examined them suffered from malnutrition, according to a report by Stephanie Nolin in the New York Times.
Even children who recover will bear the physical consequences of the rest of their lives. This may include dwarf growth, bone softness, liver and kidney problems, short -term perception problems, and an increased risk of stroke, diabetes and heart disease later.
Israeli officials have been reducing the danger of hunger in Gaza. The office of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu described the announcement of the last starvation in Gaza City as a “explicit lie.”
“As a correspondent covering global health these days, I have seen children suffering from acute malnutrition in many different environments: civil wars, displacement camps, and drought …” she said.
For a child, food is not just energy for his day, but rather the basic building block for the next life, and it is necessary for the growth of muscles, bones and brain.
What is most attractive in the treatment centers of children with malnutrition is silence: the patients are so weak that they cannot cry, and they look with an empty look at the sponsorships.
These children may be to the degree of non -movement. They may not eat or drink even when they are offered food. Their bodies try to maintain energy, and eat food that they do not have.
In more severe cases, the body begins to break the vital organs to survive. The immune system begins to fail, making the child more vulnerable to disease. Simple infections become dangerous. The rash or wounds do not heal.
It is not easy to treat a child in this case. You can not simply offer a hot meal for him. It needs special energy -rich therapeutic foods, its body can absorb it, and it is connected with carefully monitoring quantities.
As the Israeli army is ready to advance towards Gaza City, it will become more difficult for medical workers to provide careful treatment necessary to restore the health of these children.
On Sunday, the Palestinian Ministry of Health in the Gaza Strip announced the recording of two new deaths due to famine and malnutrition in the Strip. The ministry said in a statement: “The number of famine victims rises to 422, including 145 children,” the ministry said in a statement.
The ministry confirmed that the humanitarian crisis in the Gaza Strip is continuing to exacerbate in light of the siege and the lack of food and medical supplies, renewing its call to the international community and relief institutions for immediate and urgent intervention.