Gaza: More than 50 child malnutrition deaths amid aid blockade
In Gaza, malnourished children are dying as a direct result of the Israeli aid embargo, the UN World Health Organization (WHO) said on Tuesday.
In an update on Tuesday, the WHO cited reports that 57 children have reportedly died from the effects of malnutrition since the aid blockade began on 2 March.
If the situation persists, nearly 71,000 children under the age of five are expected to be acutely malnourished over the next 11 months, said Dr Rik Peeperkorn, WHO representative in the occupied Palestinian territory:
“We all know that the long-term damage from malnutrition can last a lifetime, from stunted growth, impaired cognitive development, poor health, etc., so without enough nutritious food, clean water, access to healthcare, an entire generation will be permanently affected.”
Today in Gaza WHO only has enough supplies to treat 500 children with acute malnutrition; it’s “a fraction” of urgent needs, Dr. Peeperkorn insisted.
At Kamal Adwan hospital in north Gaza he said that he saw malnourished five-year-old children who looked only two-and-a-half.
UN human rights chief raises human rights concerns about deportations from the United States of America
UN human rights chief Volker Türk has expressed deep concerns about the deportation of more than 200 non-US nationals – especially to countries other than those of their origin.
Official US Government data indicates that around 142,000 individuals have been deported so far this year under the Enemy Aliens Act, as alleged members of criminal gangs.
Reports indicate at least 245 Venezuelans and around 30 Salvadorans removed to El Salvador are being held in the CECOT maximum security prison, where detainees are treated particularly harshly, said Liz Throssell from the UN human rights office:
“These reports indicate that many of the detainees were not informed of the US government’s intention to deport them, to be held in a third country that many did not have access to a lawyer and that they were effectively unable to challenge the lawfulness of their removal before being flown out of the US.”
No official lists of the detainees have been published by the US or Salvadoran authorities, according to the UN human rights office.
It noted that many relatives of the deported individuals are deeply distressed at not knowing where and in what circumstances their loved ones are being held.
Number of internally displaced breaks new record with no let-up in conflicts, disasters
A record 83.4 million people have been forced from their homes around the world, fuelled by an increase in disasters and conflict, the UN migration agency, IOM, said on Tuesday.
Amy Pope, IOM Director-General, warned that without bold action from governments working together, the number of people displaced within their own countries will continue to grow rapidly.
This year’s record is more than 11 million higher than 12 months ago.
The UN agency said that conflicts in Sudan, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Lebanon, Ukraine and Palestine had uprooted millions of people, adding to the tens of millions who already live in protracted displacement in countries such as Afghanistan, Colombia, Syria and Yemen.
Climate shocks and other disasters have also caused displacement to spike, from 26.8 million last year to 45.8 million.
Daniel Johnson, UN News
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Source of original article: United Nations (news.un.org). Photo credit: UN. The content of this article does not necessarily reflect the views or opinion of Global Diaspora News (www.globaldiasporanews.com).
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