More than 1,100 children in Syria's Ghouta suffer from malnutrition: UNICEF
The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) has warned that more than 1,100 children in war-torn Syria's Eastern Ghouta district, on the outskirts of the Syrian capital Damascus, are suffering from various forms of malnutrition.
UNICEF’s Spokeswoman Monica Awad said on Monday that, based on a three-month survey, 1,114 Syrian children in total were found to be suffering from malnutrition in the district, which is held by the foreign-backed militants.
She added that of these children, 232 were afflicted by the most hazardous form of malnutrition, known as “sever acute malnutrition,” a level of undernourishment that needs urgent treatment if the child is to survive, and 882 others suffered from moderate acute malnutrition.
Awad also warned that more than 1,500 other children were still at risk, adding, “During the past month, there have been two reported deaths among infants, one girl aged 34 days and a boy aged 45 days, due to insufficient breastfeeding.”
The UN official also stated that mothers’ lack of access to quality food had made them “frail” and unable to breastfeed their children.
“The humanitarian needs are great. They need quality food, medicine and therapeutic nutrition supplies,” Awad added.
It is estimated that up to 400,000 people live across Eastern Ghouta, one of the last remaining militant strongholds in the Arab country.
Syria has been fighting different foreign-sponsored militant and terrorist groups since March 2011.
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