Beirut: Director-General of the World Health Organization, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, has highlighted a dire projection that over 100,000 children and 37,000 pregnant and breastfeeding women in the Gaza Strip are expected to suffer from acute malnutrition through April next year.

According to National News Agency – Lebanon, this alarming forecast follows the release of the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) report by UN agencies, which cautioned that at least 1.6 million people in Gaza are anticipated to experience high levels of acute food insecurity through mid-April 2026. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus warned that the worst-case scenarios could lead to famine across the entire Gaza Strip if conflicts renew and humanitarian aid halts.

In a post on X, he emphasized the fragile progress in combating famine, noting the challenges the population faces due to massive infrastructure destruction, collapsed livelihoods and local food production, and restrictions on humanitarian operations.

He further pointed out that only half of Gaza’s health facilities are partially functional, dealing with shortages of essential supplies and equipment due to complex entry procedures and restrictions, with many items classified as potentially dual-use. To address this, the WHO calls for urgent and expedited approval and entry of essential medical supplies, equipment, and prefabricated hospital structures to scale up life-saving services and expand access to care.