March 7, 2008 | A new day in Gaza. Although we are at the beginning of March, nights are still very cold and only a few privileged families have enough fuel to heat their homes. The rest of us try to stay warm the best we can. We also are having trouble getting adequate supplies of potable water.

• Humanitarian relief organizations have declared the situation in Gaza as the worst since 1967. Poverty is deepening here and so is stress and despair, especially among the most vulnerable – women and children.

• Responding to the trauma that Gaza children are encountering, ANERA’s child well-being program, funded by the Canadian government, continues to provide psychosocial support through art, music and stress relief sessions.

• Rates of anemia are increasing, caused in part by a lack of food and adequate nutrition. Nine-month-old infants are suffering from the condition at rates that reach 70%.

• To counter malnutrition problems, ANERA continues providing preschoolers with a daily fortified snack. A few days ago, I was speaking to Amal, a mother who lives in a Bedouin village in the north of Gaza (close to where the latest military operations happened), and she said, "this is the only healthy food my little boy can get. Otherwise he eats bread and tea for breakfast, lunch and dinner."

• Diarrhea is also on the increase partly due to the lack of clean water and the lack of sanitation.

• ANERA helps alleviate people’s discomfort and suffering by distributing blankets, milk and hygiene kits to the neediest and most marginalized areas of Gaza City.

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