Beyond survival: Gaza’s nutritional justice lies in local farms, women’s leadership and trauma care

An upcoming paper offers solutions for how Gaza can overcome its malnutrition crisis, including psychosocial support, localized food systems, community-based nutrition education, and women’s empowerment. 

With over 1.7 million people displaced in recent escalations, the strip is facing a severe humanitarian crisis, which the authors say has left over 65,000 children hospitalized from acute malnutrition, food shortages, hunger, and restricted access to essential nutrients. 

The paper authors suggest comprehensive strategies should focus on rebuilding agricultural capacity and rethinking production methods, but balancing “ambition with realism” is crucial for progress. “True progress will require not only technical innovation and strong governance but also the political will to address the root causes of Gaza’s vulnerability.”

“Even prior to the 2023/2025 War, about 71.5% of households in Gaza were already chronically food insecure. The latest conflict has significantly worsened conditions. According to the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification, approximately 96% of Gaza’s population (2.15 million people) are facing acute food insecurity through September 2024,” reads the research.

“Children under five have been disproportionately affected, with skyrocketing rates of malnutrition becoming a pressing public health emergency.” Women also suffer from disproportionate malnutrition.

The authors stress that Gaza’s recovery should be more than returning to normalcy prior to the war. It should build resilient, locally grounded, and community-led food systems. “This requires coordinated investments in people, policies, and infrastructure that address both the nutritional needs and the structural inequalities that fuel food insecurity.”

Blockade hinders nutrition access

The correspondence, to be published in Frontiers Public Health, points out that the Israeli blockade and destruction of infrastructure have worsened the delivery of aid. It has been limiting Gaza’s ability to import necessary goods such as food, fuel, medical equipment, and agricultural inputs.

Gaza’s malnutrition crisis has left over 65,000 children hospitalized amid widespread food insecurity.The civilians face deliberate denial of food, which violates humanitarian laws like the Geneva Conventions that prohibit using hunger as a weapon of war. Repeated military attacks on housing, hospitals, water systems, and farmland have brought further damage and lowered household purchasing power, notes the paper. 

“With an unemployment rate exceeding 45%, families are unable to afford sufficient and nutritious food. The economic collapse has left many relying solely on humanitarian aid, increasing vulnerability when supply chains are disrupted.”

“More than 95% of Gaza’s water is unsafe to drink, contributing to waterborne diseases like diarrhea that impair nutrient absorption, especially in children,” details the paper. 

Meanwhile, the UNRWA, OCHA, and WHO update that life-saving aid is being allowed to enter Gaza with around 100 more trucks after five were let in yesterday. However, they protest the scale remains insufficient to meet the urgent needs of people there. 

Women and children bear the brunt 

Children under five face rapid weight loss and stunting, which damages their long-term physical and cognitive development, reveals the paper. Micronutrient deficiencies include iron, vitamin A, and iodine, significantly impacting pregnant women and children’s health as they are susceptible to disease and risky childbirth.

The authors highlight that maternal malnutrition results in the baby’s low birth weight, premature delivery, and long-term developmental challenges. Combined with the trauma of war, displacement, fear, and loss can also hinder eating patterns and giving care to their children.

Chronic stress makes nutrition rehabilitation challenging, they underscore.

Potential solutions

The authors stress the importance of international organizations in providing access to food and medicine, which ensures people’s right to adequate nutrition and humanitarian aid. They underline the importance of international aid, local governmental efforts, and sustainable agricultural practices to tackle malnutrition.

Experts call for localized food systems, psychosocial support, and women’s empowerment to drive recovery.“In the immediate aftermath of the 2023/2025 conflict, humanitarian interventions in Gaza must go beyond short-term food relief to restore dignity, address urgent nutritional gaps, and lay the groundwork for sustainable recovery.”

The paper says restoration must focus on scaling nutrition-focused aid with an integrated approach, jumpstarting agricultural recovery under constraint, and addressing trauma as a nutritional risk factor.

It suggests that international stakeholders can apply pressure to lift blockades. Diplomatic efforts should also go beyond the flow of humanitarian aid to sustain and create conditions for rebuilding without triggering military retaliation.

“Realistic planning should include contingency strategies for recurring conflict and emergency shutdowns of food supply routes,” the paper advises. “Without lasting political solutions, donor interest may decline, and funding decisions can become tied to geopolitical agendas rather than need.”

“This risks delays, conditional aid, and loss of trust. To maintain effectiveness, NGOs must ensure transparent, needs-based aid and strengthen local capacity to reduce reliance on fluctuating external support,” reads the paper.

Link between trauma and nutrition

The paper underlines that displacement is more than losing shelter — it impacts eating behavior, metabolism, and children’s future. It calls for humanitarian nutritional programs to integrate psychosocial support. 

The blockade and conflict have damaged agriculture, healthcare, and access to essential nutrition.“Child-friendly spaces established by NGOs can provide safe environments where trained counselors help children rebuild routines, develop healthy eating behaviors, and receive play-based therapy. At the caregiver level, group-based therapy or stress management workshops should be incorporated into food distribution sites.”

“It is important to recognize mental health as a key factor influencing nutritional outcomes, rather than treating it solely as a standalone humanitarian issue,” adds the paper. Group counseling at food distribution points can be an effective solution.

Furthermore, the authors highlight the importance of nutrition campaigns. For instance, interactive cooking demonstrations during distribution days or integrating nutrition education in school curricula can help build habits among children growing up in crisis.

Additionally, women’s roles in nutrition must be reflected in investments and involved in decision-making, monitoring, and implementation of food systems reform. “Women are at the frontline of Gaza’s food crisis, often responsible for sourcing, preparing, and rationing food for families,” the paper adds. 

“Recovery programs must explicitly recognize this by investing in women’s economic and nutritional empowerment. This means providing small business grants and cooperative memberships to women engaged in food production, preservation, or sale.”

Beyond food aid

The authors suggest that the World Food Program (WFP) and the United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF) can distribute emergency food using mobile nutrition units. These units could deploy ready-to-use therapeutic foods (RUTFs), fortified cereals, and micronutrient powders targeted at children under five, pregnant women, and lactating mothers.

“This aid must shift from generic calorie-dense packages to nutritionally tailored interventions…But food alone is not enough.” 

The authors suggest that local health workers and NGO partnerships can create integrated and mobile nutrition hubs for basic health checks, immunizations, and education on feeding. SMS alerts or apps can also help track malnutrition cases to ensure follow-ups amid displacement.

The authors urge that recovery must begin despite the war limiting access to farmland.The Integrated Food Security Phase Classification recently warned that Gaza’s entire population faces high levels of acute food insecurity, with half a million people facing starvation.

Agricultural recovery

The authors urge that recovery must begin despite the war limiting access to farmland.

“This means providing fast-cycle support to farmers whose assets were destroyed: distributing starter kits with drought-resistant seeds, small-scale solar irrigation pumps, and compact greenhouses that can be deployed even in urban areas or camps.”

They recommend that the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) prioritize “micro-agriculture” systems that enable growing food in constrained spaces, such as rooftops or vertical structures.

“International donors must shift from one-time aid shipments toward multi-phase grants that are disbursed as farmers reach specific recovery milestones,” adds the paper. Sustainable agriculture should be taught to people so they can grow basic foods and maintain soil health.

According to the authors, farming can take place in urban agriculture corridors in densely populated areas. “This model has been used successfully in Beirut, Lebanon, where post-conflict urban gardens were implemented by NGOs to promote food security and social cohesion.”

“Lessons from these efforts show that even under aerial threats or shelling, low-cost, modular systems, easily relocated or repaired, can help sustain food access… Decentralized systems reduce dependence on long-range transport and offer protection from border closures.”