At Nasser Hospital in southern Gaza, a pilot kangaroo mother care programme is helping premature babies through skin-to-skin contact and breastfeeding.
01Summary
- 01Rania Fadel gave birth to twin boys, Ilyas and Yahya, on 25 September, with Ilyas born prematurely at 1.4 kilogrammes.
- 02Ilyas spent nearly two weeks in the neonatal intensive care unit at Nasser Medical Complex in Khan Younis before moving to neonatal care.
- 03The hospital has launched a kangaroo mother care pilot programme supported by WHO, UNICEF and UNFPA.
- 04WHO guidance cited in the story says kangaroo mother care can reduce neonatal mortality by 32 percent and mortality by six months of age by 25 percent.
- 05UNICEF said Gaza had eight neonatal intensive care units with 178 incubators before the war, but by November 2024 three units had been destroyed and incubators had fallen to about 54.
02Why it matters
The story shows how a low-cost, hands-on method can help fragile newborns in Gaza when hospitals are short of incubators and other equipment. It also highlights the wider strain on maternity and neonatal care during the war.
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