NYHQ2013-0315

On 11 May, a young girl who has been displaced by conflict stands amid ancient ruins, where she is currently sheltering in the area of Jebel al Zawiya. The ruins have become a source of refuge as they are less likely to be attacked.

By mid-May 2013 in Syria, some 6.8 million people, including over 3.12 million children, had been affected by the country’s escalating war. Syrians have also fled to nearby Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon and Turkey, and as far away as Egypt, bringing the total number of registered refugees to over 1.28 million, over 624,600 of them children. As heavy fighting continues in Syria, access to basic services remains severely constricted. UNICEF has distributed 17 generators that will provide an estimated 2.1 million people with clean water and help prevent outbreaks of water-borne diseases amid the approaching summer. Though violence continues to interrupt many children’s access to schooling, 355 school clubs ¬– supported by UNICEF in coordination with the Ministry of Education and other partners – are providing remedial classes and psychosocial support to 103,799 children. Essential educational supplies are also being distributed. UNICEF is supporting programmes in health, including a national vaccination campaign against measles and polio; the deployment of 50 mobile medical teams; and the delivery of 50 incubators, allowing recipient hospitals to provide critical neonatal care. Efforts to combat increasing rates of child malnutrition are also underway. Additionally, since January 2013, over 45,600 children have been reached with psychological support, part of child protection initiatives. UNICEF is working with diverse governments, other United Nations agencies and local and international NGOs and has appealed for a total of over US$195 million to cover responses within Syria and all host countries in the first half of this year; nearly 71 per cent has been funded to date.