UNRWA study in The Lancet: Alarming rise in malnutrition among Gaza children

A new study published by UNRWA and its partners in The Lancet confirms the alarming rise in malnutrition among children in the Gaza Strip, confirming the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) declaration of famine in Gaza City and providing the clearest evidence yet of the evolution of malnutrition among children during wartime in line with relief restrictions.

The study, published in the prestigious medical journal, provides the first monthly analysis of acute malnutrition during the war in the Gaza Strip, revealing a sharp increase after restrictions on humanitarian aid were imposed at the end of 2024 and during the eleven-week blockade from March to May 2025.

More than 54,600 children in Gaza are now acutely malnourished and face an increased risk of death if they do not receive treatment, underscoring the scale of the humanitarian catastrophe and the need for immediate and unhindered assistance.

Dr. Akihiro Seita, Director of Health at UNRWA (the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East), said that tens of thousands of young children in the Gaza Strip are suffering from preventable malnutrition, disease, and increased risk of death as a result of the ongoing war.

He added: “Without a lasting ceasefire and peace, the humanitarian suffering will continue.”

Dr. Masako Horino, a nutritional epidemiologist and lead UNRWA researcher on the study, said: “The youngest children in Gaza, as the study reveals, are tragically bearing an unimaginable burden of preventable malnutrition during this war.”