UNICEF has announced that Syria’s 10-year-long civil war has killed or wounded almost 12,000 children and left millions out of school in what could have repercussions for years to come in the country.

News Center- The United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund (UNICEF) has announced that that Syria’s 10-year-long civil war has killed or wounded almost 12,000 children and left millions out of school in what could have repercussions for years to come in the country. Only last year, 551 children were killed, 699 children were wounded, says UNICEF. The agency says that the education system, meanwhile, is overstretched, underfunded, and fragmented. By early 2021, one in three schools inside Syria could no longer be used because they were destroyed, damaged, or are being used for military purposes.

Children need support

UNICEF says that nearly 2.45 million children in Syria are out of school, while those children who are able to attend classes often learn in overcrowded classrooms and in buildings with insufficient water and sanitation facilities, electricity, heating or ventilation. The situation for many children and families remains precarious, with nearly 90% of children in need of humanitarian assistance, a 20% increase in the past year alone. UNICEF also states that families are also paying the price for an economic crisis and dangerous rise in food insecurity, with many struggling to afford to put food on the table, while an estimated half a million children are chronically malnourished.

Almost one in two young people lost at least one of their relatives

A survey conducted by the International Committee of the Red Cross with Syrians between the ages of 18 and 25 in Syria, Lebanon, and Germany highlights the heavy price paid by young Syrians. The survey says, “In Syria, almost one in two young people (47%) said a close relative or friend had been killed in the conflict. One in six young Syrians said at least one of their parents was killed or seriously injured in the conflict.”