DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip: Medics in Gaza said on Monday they were working to step up screening of young children for severe malnutrition amid fears that hunger is spreading as people flee to new areas.
Aid group International Medical Corps (IMC) and partners are planning to reach more than 200,000 children under 5 years old as part of a ‘Find and Treat’ campaign, one of its doctors, Mumawwar Said, told Reuters by phone.
“With the displacement, communities are settling in new locations that do not have access to clean water, or there is not adequate access to food,” he said. “We fear there are more cases being missed.”
Over the weekend, families were already coming into an IMC clinic in the central city of Deir Al-Balah, opened after the agency said it had to shut down two centers in the southern city of Rafah due to insecurity.
Five-year-old Jana Ayad had weighed just 9 kilograms when she arrived, suffering from diarrhea and vomiting, Nutrition Officer Raghda Ibrahim Qeshta told Reuters as she carefully held the child.
“My daughter was dying in front of me,” said Nasma Ayad as she sat next to the bed. “I didn’t know what to do.”
Jana had started putting on some weight after treatment, medics said, but she was still painfully thin with her ribs showing as she lay listlessly in her bunny pyjamas.
Staff can gauge nutrition levels by measuring the circumference of children’s arms. During a Reuters cameraman’s short visit at least two of the measurements were in the yellow band, indicating a risk of malnutrition.
A group of UN-led aid agencies estimates that around 7 percent of Gazan children may be acutely malnourished, compared with 0.8 percent before the Israel-Hamas conflict began on Oct. 7.
Until now the worst of severe hunger has been in the north, with a UN-backed report warning of imminent famine in March.
But aid workers worry it could spread to central and southern areas due to the upheaval around Rafah that has displaced more than 1 million people and constrained supply flows through southern corridors.
Israel launched its military operation in Gaza after Hamas-led militants attacked Israel on Oct. 7, killing 1,200 people and taking some 250 hostage, according to Israeli tallies.
It says it has expanded efforts to facilitate aid flows into Gaza and blames international aid agencies for distribution problems inside the enclave.
Medics aim to screen thousands of Gaza children for malnutrition
https://arab.news/95c47
Medics aim to screen thousands of Gaza children for malnutrition
- IMC and partners are planning to reach more than 200,000 children under 5 years old as part of a ‘Find and Treat’ campaign
Year after Assad’s downfall, Syrians shows strong support for Al-Sharaa
- Survey finds Syrians are hopeful for the future, back the government’s progress following Assad’s demise
- Saudi Arabia is the most popular foreign country, Trump also given firm support
LONDON: As Syrians this week marked one year since the downfall of Bashar Assad, a survey conducted inside the country has found overwhelming support for the new president and placed Saudi Arabia as the most popular international partner.
The former president fled the country on Dec. 8, 2024, after a lightning offensive by opposition forces reached Damascus, bringing an end to 14 years of civil war.
The campaign was spearheaded by Ahmad Al-Sharaa, who now serves as the country’s president and has pressed ahead with efforts to stabilize Syria and rebuild relations with international partners.
Those efforts were recognized in a recently published survey that found that 81 percent of those asked were confident in the president and 71 percent in the national government.
There was also strong backing for key institutions, with more than 70 percent supporting the army and 62 percent in favor of the courts and legal system.
It was carried out during October and November by Arab Barometer, a US-based nonprofit research network.
The survey questioned more than 1,200 randomly selected adults in person across the country, asking their thoughts on a range of issues, including the government’s performance, the economy and security.
The strong support shown for Al-Sharaa is at a level that would be the envy of most Western governments and comes as Syria faces many deep challenges.
The cost of rebuilding the country has been placed at more than $200 billion by the World Bank, the economy has been devastated and the country has faced outbreaks of sectarian violence.
Al-Sharaa has worked to end Syria’s international isolation, building support from countries in the region and successfully lobbying the US to lift sanctions.
A key backer has been Saudi Arabia, which has offered political and economic support. The survey placed the Kingdom as the most popular foreign country with 90 percent viewing Saudi Arabia favorably.
Qatar was also popular, with more than 80 percent viewing the emirate as favorable and 73 percent admiring Turkey.
Most of those asked — 66 percent — also viewed the US favorably, an appreciation of President Donald Trump’s decision to ease sanctions and the impact that will have on the daily lives of Syrians.
After meeting Al-Sharaa in Washington last month, Trump announced a partial suspension of sanctions after already easing many sections of the sanctions regime against the country.
The survey found 61 percent have a positive view of Trump, a figure higher than in much of the Middle East.
There was much less enthusiasm, however, for Washington’s efforts for Syria to normalize relations with Israel.
Only 14 percent supported such a move and just 4 percent had a favorable opinion of Israel.
During the tumult of Assad’s demise, Israel’s military occupied a further swathe of southern Syria and has regularly launched attacks on the country in the last year.
More than 90 percent of Syrians said they viewed Israel’s occupation of the Palestinian territories and strikes on Iran, Lebanon and Syria as critical threats to their security.
Writing jointly in Foreign Policy magazine, Salma Al-Shami and Michael Robbins from Arab Barometer said the survey results provided reasons to be optimistic about Syria’s future.
“We found that the country’s people are hopeful, supportive of democracy and open to foreign assistance,” they said. “They approve of and trust their current government.”
But the authors also said the results provided some reasons for concern, particularly over the state of the economy and internal security.
Support for the government also dropped off sharply in regions largely home to the Alawite ethno-religious group.
The Assad dynasty that ruled Syria for more than 50 years belonged to the Alawite minority and members of the group held many of the positions of power during that rule.
The survey showed that Syrians view the economy as a major concern, with just 17 percent happy with its performance and many worried about inflation, jobs and poverty.
Some 86 percent said their incomes did not cover their expenses and 65 percent said they had struggled to buy food in the previous month.
There was also concern about security, with 74 percent supportive of any government effort to collect weapons from armed groups and 63 percent viewing kidnapping as a critical threat.
Marking the anniversary of Assad’s downfall on Monday, Al-Sharaa said the government was working to build a strong Syria, consolidate its stability and safeguard its sovereignty.
