Gaza is currently facing a nutrition emergency within a humanitarian emergency.

After more than two years of siege, conflict, and the near-total collapse of food supply systems, animal-source foods have virtually disappeared from household diets, which has driven nutritional anemia to crisis levels across the population. Today, a pregnant woman in Gaza has less than a 1-in-2 chance of maintaining healthy hemoglobin levels. For children under five, anemia is no longer the exception but the norm. According to WHO, as of late 2025, 82% of infants under one year old in Gaza are affected; a figure that reflects not a health gap, but a system in collapse.

With the goal of reducing nutritional anemia among vulnerable households in the Gaza Strip, UOSSM Canada's team distributed meat to patients, especially targeting female-headed households and IDPs with limited access to iron-rich foods,  pregnant and breastfeeding women, children Under 5, and anemia patients. The aim was to both improve short-term access to animal-source iron, protein, and B12, alongside supporting household members of the targeted patients, through improved household-level health outcomes, and lower risk of catastrophic health expenditure.

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UOSSM Canada's Impact

As a result, UOSSM Canada distributed more than 1300 packages of fresh meat, each with an average weight of 2 kg. In Syria, 2,800 indirect beneficiaries were reached with 560 packages delivered. Similarly, 484 and 300 packages were reached in Gaza and Ramallah, for a total of 7600+ indirect beneficiaries from this campaign!

The Udhiya initiative helped improve access to nutritious food and contributed to efforts to reduce malnutrition among vulnerable populations in the targeted areas, and we thank every donor for their role in helping families in need. In the present, UOSSM Canada is committed to continuing its life-saving work across Gaza and Syria.

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How You Can Help

Donation links and more information for UOSSM Canada's work can be found on our Crowdfunding page. Current campaigns include:

• Funding Al-Rantisi Hospital, only children's hospital in Gaza
• Supporting essential healthcare services cut off by recent flooding in Deir Ez-Zor, Syria
• Setting up emergency medical team deployment across Sudan
• Delivering essential medicines and foods to support workers and combat malnutrition
• Supporting frontline doctors and nurses with resources to continue their life-saving work.

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These programs are only possible with your support. Every donation helps provide nutrition, treatment, and hope to children and families in need.