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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