(VOVWORLD) - The UN children's agency on Monday appealed for 2.5 billion USD in funding to provide life-saving aid for 39 million hungry children in the Middle East and North Africa impacted by war and the COVID-19 pandemic.
 Syrian children at a refugee camp in Beqaa valley, Lebanon. (Photo: AFP/VNA) |
UNICEF regional director for the Middle East and North Africa Ted Chaiban said the region has the greatest number of children in need in the world. This is largely due to man-made crises including armed conflicts, poverty, and economic stagnation, he added. The COVID-19 pandemic that broke out this year has worsened the situation.
Children are most in need in war-torn Yemen, in conflict-wracked Syria, and in Sudan.
In Yemen, 12 million children need assistance after five years of conflict.
There are 4.8 million children in need of assistance in Syria, 5.3 million in Sudan, and 1.9 million in Lebanon.