A mother’s touch helps premature babies grow strong in Gaza

What Happened

At Nasser Medical Complex in Khan Younis, a kangaroo mother care pilot programme supported by WHO, UNICEF and UNFPA is providing skin-to-skin care for premature and low-birthweight newborns. The article profiles Rania Fadel, 24, who gave birth to twin boys Ilyas and Yahya on September 25; Ilyas weighed 1.4 kg and spent nearly two weeks in neonatal intensive care before being held against his mother's chest for about 90 minutes and breastfeeding. Khawla al-Madhoun, director of nursing for maternity and neonatal departments, said the hospital has seen underweight babies grow faster with kangaroo care and aims for at least two hours of skin-to-skin contact per session, prioritising medically stable babies who do not require oxygen support. The article cites WHO guidance that kangaroo mother care reduces neonatal mortality by 32 percent and mortality by six months by 25 percent compared with conventional care. It also cites UNICEF figures that Gaza had eight neonatal intensive care units with 178 incubators before October 2023; by November 2024, three units had been destroyed and available incubators had fallen to about 54, a 70 percent reduction. The article states Israeli strikes have continued since an October 2025 ceasefire, and shortages of incubators and equipment persist.

Key Actors

Why It Matters

The pilot addresses a critical gap in neonatal care as Gaza's health system, damaged by war and shortages, faces a 70 percent reduction in available incubators according to UNICEF. Kangaroo mother care is a low-resource intervention that WHO says can reduce neonatal mortality by nearly a third, making it strategically significant for maintaining newborn survival amid damaged facilities, fuel shortages, and ongoing strikes.

Watch For

Whether the programme expands beyond medically stable babies to those needing respiratory support; whether the planned dedicated room and equipment arrive; whether longer sessions approaching WHO's eight-hour daily target are implemented; and how ongoing hostilities and import restrictions affect fuel, electricity, and incubator availability. Future UNICEF or WHO reports on neonatal mortality and hospital capacity in Gaza will indicate the pilot's impact.