Press Release: UK charity Muslim Hands distributing over 2.5 million meals in famine-hit Gaza as part of record-breaking Ramadan response
As part of an unprecedented distribution of 6.1 million meals around the world this Ramadan, UK charity Muslim Hands is providing over 2.5 million meals in famine-hit Gaza alone – a record in the organisation’s 30-year history.
Since the conflict began on 7th October, nearly 2.3 million people in Gaza have been displaced and access to adequate food, clean water, health, and sanitation has drastically deteriorated. More than half a million are on the brink of starvation, and shockingly 80 percent of all those currently at the most extreme life-threatening levels of malnutrition worldwide are in the Gaza Strip.
Muslim Hands is placing special emphasis on scaling up meal distributions in northern parts of Gaza, where nine out of ten Palestinians are eating less than one meal a day and struggling to find clean, drinkable water. Sadly, at least 25 children have reportedly died from malnutrition, with clear stark warnings that if aid is not increased and consistent, more deaths will be imminent this Ramadan.
Muslim Hands will be responding to the on-going crisis by distributing 2.5 million hot meals, through various charity partners, focusing on the most vulnerable, which include women, children, the elderly and those with disabilities. Each cooked meal contains at least 1,500 calories including rice, pasta, fortified vegetable oil, tomato sauce, legumes, and pulses and aims to be a source of hope to those with limited cooking facilities, which has made feeding their families extremely difficult.
One widow struggling to survive with her three children in Gaza says: ‘I haven’t eaten for days, whatever little food we receive, it is not enough, and I give it to my children. It is so difficult to get water and my child got diarrhoea from drinking dirty water. I am alone with no support, I am scared for myself and my children, I don’t know what to do.’
As part of its global Ramadan meal distribution, the twenty-one countries which will receive Ramadan meals also include Yemen, Afghanistan as well as Somalia and Pakistan who are facing ongoing effects of climate change. Afghanistan continues to face an ongoing humanitarian crisis, leaving millions of Afghans struggling to survive. A collapsed economy and sky rocketing food prices means that hunger is widespread, with ninety percent of the population food insecure.
Communities being crippled by climate change has caused failed crops, loss of livestock and mass displacement. The ongoing Ukraine war has limited much needed resources such as sunflower oil and wheat, making the exacerbated prices of basic essentials beyond reach for many families, who will have to ration their meals or go hungry.
Here in the UK, the rising cost of living as well as the long-lasting impact of the pandemic, has meant that 50 percent of Muslim households live below the poverty line. Many of these families are joining the growing number of people turning to food banks for support. Our Open Kitchens in Nottingham and Hounslow have continued to see a 25 percent increase in service users needing support. Collectively, the kitchens have given over 500,000 cooked meals to homeless people, those from low-income families and elderly people, since 2018.
Yasrab Shah, Muslim Hands Fundraising Director, said: ‘Hope is what the people of Gaza and those suffering around the globe are relying on. Our Ramadan message this year continues to be ‘you are their hope’ and is a reminder to our supporters that your generous donations are truly a lifeline. Muslim Hands has scaled up its Ramadan meals this year, where over two million meals will be distributed through our charity partners in Gaza alone, highlighting the drastic need. Across the globe, we continue to see millions already in crisis, spiraling into another terrible situation. We simply cannot allow these people, including those in the UK, to go hungry. We urge our donors to keep their donations coming in as it can mean the difference between life and death for those in desperate need.’
ENDS
For more information please contact: Senior Press Officer Sahirah Javaid - 07736344899
