UN warns of mental health emergency and surge in child marriage in Palestine
Mar 22nd 2026 · Palestinian Territory (Occupied)
UNFPA reports widespread trauma among Palestinian children, with skyrocketing rates of PTSD and anxiety in Gaza and a sharp reversal in child marriage trends as families face displacement, poverty and collapsing services.
- More than one million children in Gaza need mental health and psychosocial support.
- Ninety six percent of children in Gaza say they feel that death is imminent.
- About 61% of adolescents have post traumatic stress disorder, 38% have depression and 41% have anxiety.
- Seventy one percent of respondents report rising pressure to marry girls under 18 and emergency courts issued over 400 licences for girls aged 14 to 16 in a short period.
- Around 10% of newly registered pregnancies in Gaza in 2025 were among adolescents while only 15% of health facilities can provide obstetric and neonatal care.
- UNFPA estimates 63% of girls married young experience physical, psychological or sexual abuse and more than 100 suicides or attempts have been documented among survivors.
- UNFPA has reopened or supported more than 35 safe spaces, distributed over 120,000 dignity and hygiene kits and expanded psychosocial services but faces severe constraints from displacement and limited resources.