UNICEF Appeals for $2.5bn to Help Kids of Mideast amid Wars, Pandemic

Ted Chaiban, the regional director of the UN children’s agency, said on Monday that the appeal “aims to reach children with critical humanitarian assistance and continue responding to the massive needs emerging as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic.”

“The region is home to the highest number of children in need in the world,” he said, adding, "This is largely due to man-made crises including armed conflicts, poverty and economic stagnation.”

A large part of the requested fund is to go to Yemen, Syria and Sudan.

“We hear of fatigue to fund long-term crises like in Yemen and Syria,” Chaiban said, but the world, he added, “cannot turn a blind eye to the needs of children impacted by two of the most horrific conflicts in recent history.”

At least 12 million children, according to UNICEF, need assistance in Yemen.

There, the scourge of a war ignited by the regime in Riyadh and its allies in 2015 continues to take its deadly toll on civilians, not least children.

A child under 5 dies every 10 minutes in Yemen due to extreme hunger: Health minister

The Yemeni health minister says it is estimated that every ten minutes a child under five dies from extreme hunger in Yemen.

Nearly five million children also need aid in Syria. About 2.5 million Syrian kids already live as refugees in the neighboring countries. Flames of conflict have significantly threatened the lives of children in the Arab country since 2011.

In Sudan, the number of children in need of assistance passes the five million mark. Kids in Sudan face a bleak future due to an economic crisis, which has been further exacerbated by unprecedented floods.

UNICEF says its main imperative is children’s education. Access to water, sanitation, healthcare and nutrition as well as mental health support are among other priorities.