UNICEF: More Syrian children than ever in need humanitarian aid

By Christopher Wells

Marking thirteen years since the beginning of the civil war in Syria, the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) reports that “almost 7.5 million children in the country are in need of humanitarian assistance – more than at any other time during the conflict.”

A UNICEF statement highlights the “repeated cycles of violence and displacement,” as well as economic crises, disease outbreaks, and the 2023 earthquakes as contributing factors to the “long-term physical and psychosocial” consequences for Syrian children.

Malnourishment and psychosocial distress

In particular, UNICEF notes that some 650,000 children under the age of five are chronically malnourished, an increase of roughly thirty percent in the past five years. Further, roughly one-third of all children in Syria have reported psychosocial distress, with girls slightly more susceptible than boys.

UNICEF Regional Director for the Middle East and North Africa Adele Khodr says, “The sad reality is that today and, in the days ahead, many children in Syria will mark their 13th birthdays, becoming teenagers, knowing that their entire childhood to date has been marked by conflict, displacement and deprivation.” She says Syria’s children ultimately “need a long-term peaceful to the solution,” but added, “we cannot just wait for that to happen.”

An essential lifeline

The UNICEF statement notes that the agency needs more than 400 million dollars “to provide an essential lifeline to 8.5 million people, including 5.4 million children.” Khodr says, “Continued support from the international community is critical for restoring systems to deliver essential basic social services, like education, water and sanitation, health, nutrition, child and social protection, ensuring that no child in Syria is left behind.”