Published : 21-05-2022
Seven hundred thousand more children face hunger in Syria due to the country’s continuously deteriorating economy, especially in northeast Syria, said the World Health Organization (WHO).
In the last six months, the total number of food-insecure children across the country has risen to more than 4.6 million. After more than ten years of conflict and displacement, an unprecedented number of children in Syria are now battling soaring rates of malnutrition.
The World Health Organization and the Nutrition Sector continue to expand detection, as well as preventive and specialized in-patient nutrition services for children with acute malnutrition and ensure the availability of critical supplies.
Malnutrition refers to deficiencies, excesses or imbalances in a person’s intake of energy and/or nutrients. The term malnutrition covers two broad groups of conditions. One is ‘undernutrition’, which includes stunting (low height for age), wasting (low weight for height), underweight (low weight for age) and micronutrient deficiencies or insufficiencies (a lack of important vitamins and minerals).
Many families cannot afford or do not have access to nutritious foods like fresh fruits, vegetables, legumes, meat, and milk.
The deterioration of health services, the economic crisis, and the decrease in purchasing power, coupled with the difficulty of accessing safe drinking water have all led to an increase in malnutrition rates.
As evidence shows, in 2022-2023 about 5.5 million people including mothers and children aged 0-59 months in Syria will need direct nutrition assistance; half of them live in Northeast Syria. Subsequent surveys have shown that the incidence of acute and chronic malnutrition is twice as much in Northeast Syria as compared to the rest of the country.
Seven hundred thousand more children face hunger in Syria due to the country’s continuously deteriorating economy, especially in northeast Syria, said the World Health Organization (WHO).
In the last six months, the total number of food-insecure children across the country has risen to more than 4.6 million. After more than ten years of conflict and displacement, an unprecedented number of children in Syria are now battling soaring rates of malnutrition.
The World Health Organization and the Nutrition Sector continue to expand detection, as well as preventive and specialized in-patient nutrition services for children with acute malnutrition and ensure the availability of critical supplies.
Malnutrition refers to deficiencies, excesses or imbalances in a person’s intake of energy and/or nutrients. The term malnutrition covers two broad groups of conditions. One is ‘undernutrition’, which includes stunting (low height for age), wasting (low weight for height), underweight (low weight for age) and micronutrient deficiencies or insufficiencies (a lack of important vitamins and minerals).
Many families cannot afford or do not have access to nutritious foods like fresh fruits, vegetables, legumes, meat, and milk.
The deterioration of health services, the economic crisis, and the decrease in purchasing power, coupled with the difficulty of accessing safe drinking water have all led to an increase in malnutrition rates.
As evidence shows, in 2022-2023 about 5.5 million people including mothers and children aged 0-59 months in Syria will need direct nutrition assistance; half of them live in Northeast Syria. Subsequent surveys have shown that the incidence of acute and chronic malnutrition is twice as much in Northeast Syria as compared to the rest of the country.
