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Somalia faces a ‌severe malnutrition crisis ⁠and urgently ‌needs more aid funding to ‌avert a catastrophe, the UN World Food Programme said ⁠yesterday, warning it may be forced to halt humanitarian support from July without additional financing. A combination of multiple failed rain seasons, which have wiped out crops and livestock, and ongoing conflict and insecurity is pushing people in Somalia into dangerous levels of hunger at a time of ​radical cuts in foreign aid and aid shortages sparked by the war on Iran, the WFP said.Some 6 mn people in Somalia, ‌or almost one in ⁠three, are facing ​acute hunger, while 1.9 mn children are acutely malnourished, ​according to the WFP."Somalia faces a really severe malnutrition crisis and is one of the biggest malnutrition hotspots in the world," Matthew Hollingworth, WFP assistant executive director for programme operations, told reporters in Geneva. He spoke via video link from Rome. Somalia faces several overlapping conflicts, including a long-running Islamist insurgency by the Al-Shabaab militant group against the federal government as well as political disputes between Mogadishu ‌and regional states over ‌power and security.The situation in ⁠the country bears similar warning signs to 2022, when Somalia ⁠was on the ⁠brink of famine following a prolonged drought, but the difference this time is that aid agencies do not have the funding to respond at a massive scale, the WFP said.The agency, which manages 90% of the food security response to Somalia, has ​had to reduce the number of people it can reach to 500,000 from 2 mn, and could have to halt its services altogether by July due to funding cuts, Hollingworth added. The WFP and the wider humanitarian sector also face widespread shortages of life-saving aid, with Ready-to-use-Therapeutic-Food facing delays of up to 40 days, due to supply chain disruption sparked by ‌the war ​in the Middle East, Hollingworth said. 

A child died Tuesday from malnutrition and famine in the Gaza Strip, bringing the death toll from famine and malnutrition to 453, including 150 children. According to Palestinian medical sources, since the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) declared famine in Gaza, 175 deaths have been recorded to date, including 35 children. Hospitals in the Gaza Strip are treating hundreds of people of all ages who are suffering from severe hunger and malnutrition, and are in a state of extreme stress. The medical sources noted that 17,000 children are suffering from severe malnutrition, and that patients are being treated for stress and memory loss resulting from severe hunger. Hospitals lack sufficient beds and medications for the massive number of people suffering from severe malnutrition. The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) warned that malnutrition among children under the age of five doubled between March and June as a result of the Israeli blockade of the Gaza Strip. UNRWA indicated that its health centers and medical points conducted approximately 74,000 malnutrition tests for children during this period, identifying approximately 5,500 cases of global acute malnutrition and more than 800 cases of severe acute malnutrition.

Gaza Strip hospitals recorded two deaths due to famine and malnutrition in the past 24 hours. This brings the total number of deaths from famine and malnutrition to 422, including 145 children.Malnutrition and starvation cases are arriving at Gaza hospitals every moment, with 900,000 children in Gaza suffering from hunger, 70,000 of whom have entered the stage of malnutrition.The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) had previously warned that malnutrition among children under the age of five has doubled between March and June, as a result of the Israeli blockade on the Gaza Strip.

Seven Palestinians, including two children, have been martyred in the past 24 hours due to famine and malnutrition afflicting Gaza residents amid the genocide war waged by the Israeli occupation on the Strip since October 7, 2023. The Palestinian Ministry of Health in Gaza confirmed that the total number of victims of famine and malnutrition in the Strip has risen to 420 martyrs, including 145 children, noting that since the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) declared famine in the Gaza Strip on August 22, a total of 142 deaths have been recorded, including 30 children. Of note, the humanitarian crisis in the Gaza Strip continues to worsen amid the blockade and shortage of food and medical supplies, as severe famine overlaps with the ongoing war that is nearing the beginning of its third year.

Hospitals in the Gaza Strip recorded five deaths, including a child, due to famine and malnutrition over the past 24 hours.Palestinian news agency (WAFA) reported that the total number of deaths from famine and malnutrition has risen to 404, including 141 children.Since the IPC's announcement, 126 deaths have been recorded, including 26 children.Cases of malnutrition and famine keeps arriving at hospitals in Gaza continuously, as around 900,000 children are suffering from hunger, 70,000 of whom have entered a state of malnutrition.The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) has warned that malnutrition among children under the age of five has doubled between March and June as a result of the Israeli blockade on the Gaza Strip.

Hospitals in the Gaza Strip recorded the death of six Palestinians, including two children, due to famine and malnutrition over the past 24 hours.This brings the total number of deaths due to famine and malnutrition to 393, including 140 children.Some 900,000 children in Gaza are suffering from hunger, 70,000 of whom have entered the malnutrition stage.UNRWA had warned that malnutrition among children under the age of five had doubled between March and June, as a result of the Israeli blockade of the Gaza Strip.