UNICEF Director-General Catherine Russell says 3.7 million children are at risk from the earthquake. The number of children aged 6 months to 4 years suffering from severe acute malnutrition increased by 48 percent between 2021 and 2022.
These are figures that add to the toll of suffering triggered by the war. Indeed, the conflict has left more than half a million dead, more than 2.1 million wounded, and more than 13 million displaced persons.
There are about 6.6 million Syrian refugees in other countries. Many of those left in the country are in need of humanitarian assistance. Among those most in need, 6.5 million are minors.
Since the earthquake, there are an estimated 1.5 million people left homeless in Syria and 5.4 million who depend on emergency aid to survive.
In the hardest years of the war, and now after the earthquake, Salesian works in Syria continue to welcome all those in need.
