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Damascus, Syria, 16 April 2014 - The latest reported mortar attack on a school inside the old city of Damascus on Tuesday during school hours is a stark and horrific reminder of the violence that children across Syria are enduring on a daily basis. The attack is reported to have resulted in the death of one child and the injury of many others.

The devastating impact on the right to education and the systematic destruction of schools by the warring parties leave long-term implications for the growth and healthy development of an entire generation of Syrian children.

UNICEF repeats its call for parties involved in the fighting, and those who have influence over them, to bring an immediate end to this vicious cycle of violence which has not only devastated the lives of millions of children, but is creating terrifying long-term consequences for the future stability of Syria and the region.

UNICEF reminds the parties to the conflict that schools must never be targeted, they must remain a place of safety and refuge.

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About UNICEF

UNICEF promotes the rights and wellbeing of every child, in everything we do. Together with our partners, we work in 190 countries and territories to translate that commitment into practical action, focusing special effort on reaching the most vulnerable and excluded children, to the benefit of all children, everywhere.

• Visit the global UNICEF website for more information.
• Follow UNICEF Middle East & North Africa on Twitter and Facebook.

For more information contact:

• Kumar Tiku, UNICEF Syria, +963 934202330, ktiku@unicef.org
• Razan Rashidi, UNICEF Syria, +963 93 354 9020, rrashidi@unicef.org
• Juliette Touma, UNICEF Regional Office for the Middle East and North Africa, +962-79-867-4628, jtouma@unicef.org

PRESS RELEASE

UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador Orlando Bloom (background, right) joins students during a Grade 6 English class, at Omar Bin Abdul Aziz Boys School in the northern city of Irbid, Jordan. © UNICEF/NYHQ2014-0437/Diffidenti

NEW YORK/AMMAN, Jordan, 12 April 2014 – UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador Orlando Bloom wrapped up a visit this week to Jordan where he met with children from Syria and their families whose lives have been devastated by the conflict – now in its fourth year.

“These children have witnessed more extreme violence than any child should,” said Bloom after a visit to Za’atari refugee camp near the Syrian border on Thursday. “What is most terrifying is that they become a lost generation. Without urgently needed education, protection and psychological support their pain and bitterness will turn into aggression years from now.” Continue reading →

NEW YORK, 7 April 2014 – Millions of Syrian children will benefit from a generous US$ 34.5 million donation by the government of Kuwait, UNICEF said today.

This brings Kuwait’s total donations to UNICEF in just two years to close to US$ 90 million.

“This contribution will help to scale up lifesaving interventions for the millions of children and their families who have been affected by this conflict,” said Mr. As Sy, UNICEF Director of Public Sector Alliances and Resource Mobilization. “More children will receive vaccinations, learning materials, and greater access to water and sanitation.”

The worsening conflict in Syria, now in its fourth year, continues to spiral. UNICEF’s 2014 funding needs for the Syria crisis stand at $835 million, a marked increase over the $370 million needed last year.

The number of children affected by the Syria conflict has more than tripled since one year ago, and stands now at 5.5 million. Likewise, the number of child refugees increased by 460 per cent – with more than 1.3 million children fleeing to Lebanon, Jordan, Iraq, Turkey, Egypt and other countries in North Africa.

This funding will help to cushion the impact of the crisis on children – including improving services in health, nutrition, immunization, water and sanitation, child protection and education.

The children’s agency has warned that without an end to the hostilities, there is a risk that an entire generation of Syrian children will fall prey to a cycle of violence, instability and deprivation.

For more information, please contact:

Kate Donovan, UNICEF New York, Tel: +1 212 326 7452, kdonovan@unicef.org

Middle East polio outbreak response continues

الخبر باللغة العربية

Amman, 6 April 2014– Polio vaccination campaigns commenced in Syria, Iraq and Egypt today, aiming to reach more than 20 million children over the next five days.

For Iraq, this will be the first nationwide vaccination campaign since a case of polio was confirmed by the Ministry of Health on 30 March in a six-month-old boy from Rusafa, northern Baghdad.

“The recent detection of a polio case in Iraq after a 14-year absence is a reminder of the risk currently facing children throughout the region,” said Maria Calivis, UNICEF Regional Director for the Middle East and North Africa. “It is now even more imperative to boost routine immunisations to reach every child multiple times and do whatever we can to vaccinate children we could not reach in previous rounds. That’s the only way we will prevent this outbreak from spreading further.” Continue reading →

PRESS RELEASE

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Abu Dhabi, UAE, 2 April 2014 – The Ministry of International Cooperation and Development in the UAE announced 7 million US$ in funding to support UNICEF’s nutrition response for children in Syria.

“This recent contribution cannot be more timely,” said UNICEF Gulf Area Representative Dr. Ibrahim El Ziq. “Malnutrition and nutrient deficiencies –so-called “hidden hunger” – undermine children’s ability to develop properly. With the support of the UAE, UNICEF will be able to scale up nutrition response to reach many more Syrian children in need to be able to have a healthy growth.”

As the conflict in Syria enters its fourth year, children continue to pay the heaviest price. A crumbling health system combined with deteriorating water, sanitation services and a deteriorating economic situation has impacted families’ diets. Doctors in Syria reported that they are seeing ten cases of malnutrition every week compared with less than one case per month before the conflict. Continue reading →

DAMASCUS, 4 APRIL 2014-  The reported killing of 11 children in two separate attacks this week in in Rural Damascus and in Al Qalamoun Mountains in Syria is a horrific and tragic reminder of the human cost of the conflict inflicted by all sides in the fighting.

Too many children have suffered from the violence and terror of a conflict over which they have no influence. This suffering has to end and all parties to the conflict must uphold their responsibilities to protect children.

UNICEF repeats its call for those involved in the fighting, and those with influence over them, to bring an immediate end to this crisis which has not only devastated the lives of  millions of children, but is creating terrifying long-term consequences for the future stability of Syria and the region.

For more information:

• Kumar Tiku, UNICEF Syria, ktiku@unicef.org  Mob: +963 934202330
• Razan Rashidi, UNICEF Syria, rrashidi@unicef.org, Mob: +963 93 354 9020
• Juliette Touma, UNICEF Regional Office for the Middle East and North Africa, jtouma@unicef.org, Mob: +962 79 867 4628

Qamishli, Syria, March 25, 2014- For the first time since the Syria conflict began three years ago, a joint United Nations humanitarian land convoy has successfully delivered lifesaving supplies for children and their families in the north of the country.

The convoy, including 16 UNICEF trucks, travelled through the Nusaybin border post, carrying food supplies, hygiene kits and medicine to Qamishli governorate in north east Syria.

As part of the operation, UNICEF delivered 12,000 hygiene kits, 1,000 family water kits and 25,000 blankets. The supplies will be distributed to 50,000 people including 25,000 children living in a part of the country that has been largely cut off from humanitarian assistance.

“The people here, many of whom have been internally displaced for two years now, are really suffering”, said Mohamad Kanawati, who was part of the UNICEF team receiving the supplies on the Syria side.

“Their financial resources have run out and they haven’t had any humanitarian assistance in a very long time. They need everything.”

The hygiene kits include essential items for keeping young children – who are living in often desperate conditions – clean and healthy. Soap, diapers, baby rash cream, tooth brushes, tooth paste, and shampoo are included, as well as sanitary napkins, towels, laundry and cleaning detergents. UNICEF water kits include water purification tablets, buckets, jerry cans and soap.

The huge operation – which comprised 78 trucks in all and took four days to transit the border — was the result of long negotiations by high level United Nations officials with authorities on the Turkish and Syrian sides.

The relief supplies will be delivered over a ten-day period by the Syrian Arab Red Cross and local partners at distribution points and shelters across the governorate.

الخبر بالعربية

Risk of a lost generation say leading aid agencies.

BEIRUT, 15 March 2014 - As the crisis in Syria reaches the end of another year of brutal violence today, five of the world’s leading aid organizations say that the three-year old conflict has devastated the lives of millions of children and young people – and a generation is at risk of being lost forever.

The heads of UNICEF and UNHCR and senior representatives of Mercy Corps, Save the Children and World Vision International came together for a joint visit to Lebanon, to draw attention to the harrowing impact of over three years of conflict on 5.5 million Syrian children living in Syria and as refugees in neighbouring countries.  They highlighted the unending cycle of violence, displacement, worsening health, disruption to education and learning, and serious psychological impact on millions of children.

Continue reading →

Media Advisory |  (الخبر باللغة العربية)

Joint Press Briefing: Third Year Anniversary of Syria crisis

What:  

• As the conflict in Syria approaches another sombre milestone, UNICEF’s Executive Director Anthony Lake is inviting the media with himself, United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees António Guterres, Mercy Corps VP of Global Engagement/ Advocacy Andrea Koppel, Save the Children UK CEO Justin Forsyth, and World Vision Regional Director Conny Lenneberg for a joint Press Briefing.

Who:

• UNICEF Executive Director Anthony Lake
• UN High Commissioner for Refugees António Guterres
• Mercy Corps VP of Global Engagement/ Advocacy Andrea Koppel
• Save the Children UK CEO Justin Forsyth
• World Vision Regional Director Conny Lenneberg
• Chair/ Moderator, UNICEF Deputy Communication Director Edward Carwardine

When:

• Saturday 15^th March 2014 at 11am.

Where:

• Carthage conference room at the Phoenicia hotel, Beirut, Lebanon.

Background:

• The lives of 5.5 million children have been affected by the three years of conflict; the number needing humanitarian assistance has more than tripled in the last year alone, underlining how severe the situation has become.
• 1.2 million of these children are now living as refugees outside Syria in Lebanon, Jordan, Turkey, Iraq and Egypt.

For further information, please contact:

• UNICEF: Soha Boustani, tel: +961 3 236 167, email: sboustani@unicef.org
• UNHCR: Dana Sleiman, tel: +961 3 827 323, email: sleiman@unhcr.org
• Mercy Corps: Cassandra Nelson, tel: +44 778 6628175, email: cnelson@field.mercycorps.org
• Save the Children: Marion McKeone, tel: +961 78818795, email: marion.mckeone@savethechildren.org
• World Vision: Patricia Mouamar, tel: +961 3 002 267, email: Patricia_Mouamar@wvi.org

AMMAN, March 2014 – UNICEF has announced a US $19.2 million contribution from the government of Japan to support the agency’s on-going humanitarian assistance inside Syria and surrounding countries.

The new funds bring Japan’s total contribution to UNICEF’s Syria crisis response to US $35 million. 

“With every passing day, more Syrian children fall victim to this senseless conflict and need our help,” said Maria Calivis, UNICEF Regional Director for the Middle East and North Africa.  “This generous contribution will go a long way toward providing innovative ways for children in Syria – particularly those in hard-to-reach areas – to receive continued access to learning. This is vital to the future of the country.”

The funds will provide support across all UNICEF sectors with the highest proportion going to education. In January 2014, UNICEF and other partners launched the “No Lost Generation” campaign which aims to raise $US 1 billion to provide education and psychological protection to millions of Syrian children across the region.

The remaining funds will ensure access to primary health care and child protection to 855,000 children and their families inside Syria, and assistance to an estimated 2.5 Syrian refugees in Lebanon, Iraq, Jordan, Turkey and Egypt across all UNICEF supported sectors.

For more information, please contact:

Juliette Touma, UNICEF Regional Office for the Middle East and North Africa, jtouma@unicef.org, +962-79-867-4628

PRESS RELEASE

الخبر بالعربية

Amman, 2 March 2014 – The Ministry of Health in Jordan, with support of UNICEF, the World Health Organisation (WHO), and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), launched the third round of the National Polio Vaccination Campaign at the Mafraq Comprehensive Health Centre Sunday, in the presence of the Minister of Health, His Excellency Dr. Ali Hiyasat, UNICEF Jordan Deputy Representative, Michele Servadei, WHO Public Health Officer, Dr. Sabri Gmach, and UNHCR External Relations Officer, Frauke Riller. Continue reading →

PRESS RELEASE

الخبر بالعربية

Amman/ Cairo, 2 March 2014– Children in Egypt, Iraq, Jordan and Syria will be the first of nearly 10 million children across the Middle East to receive a dose of polio vaccine this month.

Mass vaccination campaigns were launched in the four countries today, to be followed by a similar campaign in Lebanon from 9 March.  Continue reading →

PRESS RELEASE

RIYADH, 26 February, 2014 – UNICEF has commended the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the Saudi National Relief Committees for their ongoing collaboration, generosity and shared commitment to children at an event in Riyadh, attended by HRH Prince Mohammed Bin Nayef Bin Abdul Aziz Al Saud, and other high level dignitaries and key members of the humanitarian and business communities across the Kingdom.

Hosted by the Saudi National Relief Committees, the event aimed to raise further awareness of the ongoing humanitarian crisis in Syria which has devastated the lives and childhood of millions of children inside of Syria and across the sub-region and puts an entire generation at risk. Continue reading →