Gaza dey face wahala wey dem dey call Israeli-induced famine, wey experts tok say e go leave big wahala for di minds and society of di people. Dis one dey happen as Israel blockade humanitarian aid, and di condition for over 2 million Palestinians dey spoil well-well.
Since October 2023, at least 122 Palestinians, including 83 pikin dem, don die because hunger don hold dem, as food and aid no dey reach dem side. Na wetin aid groups tok be dat. International organisations dey warn say hundreds of thousands fit soon die as aid convoy still dey stranded outside di enclave.
Alex de Waal, wey be executive director of di World Peace Foundation for Tufts University and author of Mass Starvation: The History and Future of Famine, tok say di trauma and humiliation wey dey follow famine dey last for generations. E compare di situation for Gaza to di Great Irish Famine of di 1840s, and e add say di wahala for Gaza fit take generations before e go heal.
Children na di people wey dey suffer pass. UN don warn say more than 1 million pikin dey face starvation and malnutrition. UN spokesperson Farhan Haq tok say for di first half of July, nearly 5,000 out of 56,000 children under age five wey dem screen for central and southern Gaza dey malnourished.
Ingrid de Zwarte, wey be famine expert and assistant professor for Wageningen University, tok say di impact of hunger on children fit last their whole life. She explain say di physical wahala of hunger dey lead to weight loss, weak body, and sickness. She also mention say young children dey most vulnerable.
She compare di situation to di Dutch Hunger Winter of 1944–1945, and tok say di children fit get higher risk of diabetes, obesity, heart wahala, and psychiatric problems. She add say quick action fit help di children and di next generation wey go carry di wahala of famine for their body.
De Waal warn say di society for Gaza fit collapse. E explain say famine dey scatter society, markets no dey work again, prices dey go up, and wahala like theft, violence, and displacement go increase. E tok say di infrastructure for Gaza don spoil finish—no clean water, no sanitation, no fuel, and di social fabric don scatter.
E add say di situation fit reach di tipping point wey society no fit sustain itself again. E tok say di suffering no dey increase small-small again, but e dey increase plenty-plenty. E also explain say malnourished children need special care, no be just dry food like pasta go help dem.
De Waal tok say di situation for Gaza don already show say na famine, even if UN never declare am officially. E explain say di signs dey clear—people dey find food for dustbin, dey eat animal food, and dey hide food from their neighbors. E say di experts know wetin dey happen, even if data no dey complete.
E also explain say famine no dey affect everybody for di population, but for Gaza, di suffering dey affect people everywhere. De Zwarte add say di lack of reliable data dey make am hard to declare famine officially, even though di situation don reach di level.
De Waal tok say Gaza na one of di worst cases of deliberate starvation for modern times. E compare di techniques wey dem dey use for Gaza to wetin don happen for Ethiopia, Yemen, Myanmar, Syria, and Sudan. But e say wetin make Gaza different na say international organisations dey nearby, and dem fit help if Israel allow dem.
E give example say when Israel fear polio outbreak last year, dem work with WHO to vaccinate 95% of children for Gaza within days. E also highlight say di urban nature of Gaza make di famine unique, as most famine dey happen for rural areas.
De Waal conclude say di global approach to famine need to change. E tok say governments and agencies dey wait until famine don already dey bad before dem act. E say di focus suppose dey on prevention, no be to wait make di problem big. De Zwarte add say di international community need to enforce di laws wey condemn starvation as weapon of war.
