Syrian women and their children sit and listen during a cholera awareness session by UNICEF at a Syrian refugee camp in Bhanine village, in the northern Akkar province, Lebanon Oct 18, 2022. (BILAL HUSSEIN / AP)
AMMAN – The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) on Tuesday appealed for $2.6 billion in emergency funding to deliver lifesaving assistance to over 52.7 million children in need in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) in 2023.
Adele Khodr, UNICEF regional director in MENA, said in a statement that "with almost half of the countries in the region living in crisis or undergoing ripple effects of conflicts and wars, children remain the most affected and in massive need of assistance."
The UN agency said it has helped around 2.8 million children in the Middle East and North Africa region in 2022 to get formal and non-formal education, and provided 1.2 million children with individual learning materials
The emergency funds, if secured, will allow the UNICEF to reach children impacted by conflicts and humanitarian crises in a timely and relevant manner, Khodr stressed, adding the region is suffering from some of the world's longest conflicts.
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The crisis in Syria has left more than 6.5 million children reliant on assistance, and Yemen remains mired in the world's worst humanitarian crisis. The compounded crisis in Lebanon and the instability in Sudan have resulted in millions of additional children living in critical conditions, she said.
The UN agency said it has helped around 2.8 million children in the MENA region in 2022 to get formal and non-formal education, and provided 1.2 million children with individual learning materials.
It has reached more than 338,000 children suffering from severe acute malnutrition with treatment, and provided around 13.1 million people with critical water, sanitation and hygiene supplies and access to safe water for drinking, cooking and personal hygiene, the UNICEF said.
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It has also provided around 1.4 million households with humanitarian cash assistance, it added.