World Vision warns that the escalation of the conflict in Gaza will have long-term impacts on children’s physical and mental health and well-being
11 May 2024 – World Vision is deeply concerned about the reports of intensifying military operations in Rafah, which is likely to trigger a humanitarian catastrophe in this ‘city of children’, who will be disproportionally impacted.
“Now, countless children stand on the brink, facing the peril of death, injury, and the harrowing prospect of yet another forced displacement. This crisis has already cost the lives of thousands of innocent children across the region. It is critical that an agreement is reached to put an end to the violence and allow consistent humanitarian access,” says Eleanor Monbiot, Regional Leader, Middle East Eastern Europe.
The 600,000 children and their families who have already been displaced from cities and towns around Gaza and were sheltering in Rafah, on top of the town’s normal population of 250,000 residents,[1] have ever dwindling areas to escape the spreading conflict as the humanitarian situation across Gaza continues to rapidly degrade with a looming famine and widespread destruction of critical infrastructure across the rest of the Gaza Strip.
Without consistent humanitarian access and a safe place to go, this intensification of conflict will lead to a major loss of lives and be catastrophic for the region’s children. They cannot stay put as civilians’ safety, particularly children’s, cannot be guaranteed as 44% of all Gazans who have died since 7 October are children – which is more than the number of children killed in all other conflicts around the world in the past four years. Should individuals opt to journey back to the northern regions, additional hazards loom large, with the World Food Programme sounding the alarm on a dire ‘full-blown famine’ in those areas.
Beyond the threat of death, the long-term impacts and future threats these children face are dire.
- At least 59 children are dying daily in northern Gaza due to starvation and related issues.[1]
- One-third of children under 2 in northern Gaza [2] are at heightened risk of brain atrophy and other mental and physical effects of severe hunger and malnutrition.
- Half a million girls in Gaza are at risk of sexual and gender-based violence and child marriage.[3]
- More than 6,000 unaccompanied girls are at risk of sexual exploitation in Gaza.[4]
- A quarter of a million children in Gaza [5] are at risk of suffering from mental health issues as a direct result of a loss of normalcy, witnessing conflict firsthand, experiencing violence, going without food, surviving malnutrition, being forcibly displaced from their homes, and being kept out of school.
- All 600,000 displaced children in the Gaza Strip, but particularly the 17,000+ unaccompanied or separated children, are at an exponentially higher risk of experiencing mental health issues, sexual exploitation, trafficking, starvation, and physical violence.
- More than a quarter of a million children are more likely to experience PTSD and depression.[6]
World Vision calls all parties to reach an immediate and lasting peace, including in Rafah, to save lives, ensure the release of all hostages, protect all children from the violence of conflict and from forced displacement, and ensure the immediate scale up of humanitarian assistance so unfettered humanitarian access, including essential aid and supplies can reach the civilian population.
ENDS
Notes to editor:
World Vision delivers critical humanitarian assistance to vulnerable children and their families in the West Bank and across the region, including lifesaving in-kind food and cash and voucher assistance; access to clean water, sanitation, and hygiene needs; psychosocial support to affected children and their families; and resilience-building activities.
Through World Vision’s Global Hunger Response and ENOUGH campaign, the organisation is responding to the immediate needs of the most vulnerable girls, boys, and their families who are experiencing acute hunger in 28 countries of highest alert where World Vision operates, highlighting the driving factors and impacts of hunger, malnutrition, and food insecurity on children globally, and advocating to governments and donors to do more to prevent mass starvation.
For more information please contact: World Vision’s Middle East Crisis Response Communications & Advocacy Senior Advisor, Micah Branaman, micah_branaman@wvi.org
World Vision is a Christian humanitarian and development organisation dedicated to working with children, families, and their communities to reach their full potential by tackling the root causes of poverty and injustice. World Vision serves all people, regardless of religion, race, ethnicity, or gender.
For more information, please visit www.wvi.org or follow us on X, formerly known as Twitter, @WorldVision
[1] as of 6 May
[2] Based on the number of children in northern Gaza (147,000) and the anticipated number of child deaths once the IPC’s criterion is expected to be met (0.0004), equals at least 59 children dying daily.
[3] Based on the number of children in northern Gaza experiencing acute malnutrition.
[4] Assuming a 50/50 rate of girls versus boys (1,092,700 x .5 = 546,350) and based on survey findings in Northwest Syria and Uganda, Lebanon, and Ethiopia and global data on the prevalence of sexual violence that show that sexual and gender-based violence and child marriage are significantly more likely to threaten the futures of children, particularly girls, living in conflict zones. In the long-term, girls in conflict settings have been found to be at heightened risk of early marriage due to the protracted strain on resources.
[5] Assuming a 50/50 rate of unaccompanied girls versus boys (17,000 x .5 x .72 [i.e. the rate of detected female victims of trafficking that experienced sexual exploitation] = 6,120.
[6] 241,487 children – assuming a prevalence of 22.1% in long-term conflict-affected populations (based on 20+ years of military occupation and conflict) per The Lancet and using the figure of 1,092,700 (49% children out of 2.23 million estimated population in Gaza).
[7] Based on the rate of prevalence of PTSD (47%) and depression (43%) in children directly exposed to war (600,000).