Gaza Running Out of Specialized Food to Save Malnourished Kids

Gaza is on the brink of running out of the specialized therapeutic food needed to save the lives of severely malnourished children, United Nations (UN) and humanitarian agencies say.

- 

GENEVA/JERUSALEM - Gaza is on the brink of running out of the specialized therapeutic food needed to save the lives of severely malnourished children, United Nations (UN) and humanitarian agencies say.

"We are now facing a dire situation; we are running out of therapeutic supplies," Mr. Salim Oweis, a spokesman for the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) in Amman, Jordan, told Reuters on July 24, saying supplies of ready-to-use therapeutic food (RUTF), a crucial treatment, would be depleted by mid-August if nothing changed.

"That's really dangerous for children as they face hunger and malnutrition at the moment."

Mr. Oweis said UNICEF had only enough RUTF left to treat 3,000 children. In the first two weeks of July alone, UNICEF treated 5,000 children facing acute malnutrition in Gaza.

Nutrient-dense, high-calorie RUTF supplies, such as high-energy biscuits and peanut paste enriched with milk powder, are critical for treating severe malnutrition.