Syria 10

The war in Syria has left the lives and futures of a generation of children hanging by a thread, UNICEF warned today as the conflict nears the 10-year mark. The situation for many children and families remains precarious, with nearly 90 per cent of children in need of humanitarian assistance, a 20 per cent increase in the past year alone.  

A decade of conflict has had a staggering impact on children and families in Syria: 

In the last year, the price of the average food basket increased by over 230 per cent; 

More than half a million children under the age of five in Syria suffer from stunting as a result of chronic malnutrition;

Nearly 2.45 million children in Syria and an additional 750,000 Syrian children in neighbouring countries are out of school; 40 per cent of them are girls; 

According to verified data, between 2011 and 2020:

1. Almost 12,000 children were killed or injured;

2. More than 5,700 children – some as young as seven years old – were recruited into the fighting;

3. More than 1,300 education and medical facilities and personnel have come under attack;