24m Arab children are in danger, warns UNICEF

The UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) warned on Wednesday that the conflicts in Middle East and North African countries are putting the lives of 24 million children in danger, Arab48  has reported. A statement from the UN organisation noted that the main countries where children are at risk are Yemen, Syria, the Gaza Strip, Iraq, Libya and Sudan.

“The conflict paralyses the healthcare systems in the countries affected by the conflicts and this threatens the lives of the children,” explained the Head of UNICEF’s regional office, Khayrat Kabalary. “In addition to bombs, bullets and explosives, an uncounted number of children die silently due to diseases from which they could have been protected and which are treated easily.”

UNICEF pointed out that there are currently 9.6 million children in need of help in Yemen alone. “The two-year-old conflict has resulted in starvation and plunged the country into one of the worst humanitarian crises, and has also caused malnutrition among children.”

Read: WHO warns of 300,000 cholera cases in 6 months in Yemen

A similar situation exists in Syria, where 5.8 million children need humanitarian assistance. “More than 2 million children live under siege in inaccessible areas where humanitarian aid is rare or non-existent,” added the UNICEF statement.

In Iraq, there are 5.1 million children in need, while in Libya 450,000 children need direct aid, with 1.3 million needing vaccination against chickenpox as a matter of urgency.

“There is a very thin line separating these children from death,” Kalabary noted, “especially when humanitarian aid is prevented from reaching them.” The official called for continuous and unconditional dropping of humanitarian aid to such children through UNICEF and its partners.