Some Gaza Strip Facts.
...The Gaza Strip remains occupied, both effectively and legally – and is recognized as such by the UN.
Israel is in control of Gaza's land and sea borders, territorial waters and natural resources, airspace, power supply and telecommunications. It has blockaded the strip since Hamas took over in 2006-7, preventing the movement of people, materials, and food supplies in and out of the territory – even calculating the 2,279 calories per person that would keep Gazans on an exemplary "diet". And it continues to invade the strip at will.
The blockade is collective punishment, full stop. And the impact on children in particular is horrifying. Forget for a moment the explosive violence, like drone strikes, that kills and injures children and consider the subtler, slower forms.
- Stunting, or long-term exposure to chronic malnutrition, remains high, found among 10% of children under five.
- Anemia, usually caused by dietary iron deficiency, affects most children in Gaza (58.6% of schoolchildren4, 68.1% of children 9-12 months) and one-third (36.8%) of pregnant women. If untreated, iron-deficiency anemia adversely affects child development and pregnancy outcome.
- Sanitation-related diseases with serious implications for child mortality, such as typhoid fever and watery diarrhea in children under three years of age, have increased at clinics serving refugees in the Gaza Strip.
Gaza’s polluted water supply will have long-term health implications, but current monitoring is insufficient to measure the impact of untreated sewage and poor water quality.
http://www.map-uk.org/files/1052_gaza_health_report_web_version.pdf
= new reply since forum marked as read
