Save the Children: Number of children suffering from malnutrition in North and East Syria has increased 150% to 17,000

NORTH AND EAST SYRIA — Save the Children warned of an increase in the number of malnourished children in North and East Syria, which has reached about 17,000 children, a sharp increase from the estimated 7,000 children at the beginning of the year.

The organization attributed the reason for this to the inability of children’s families to buy food in light of their high prices and an increase in the poverty rate. Food prices in the region have risen by 800% in recent years and continue to rise.

Over the past three years, the water crisis and severe drought have worsened the situation, as has the lack of international humanitarian and relief assistance following the closure of the Al-Yarubiya Border Crossing in 2020.

The United Nations World Food Program (WFP) indicated that about 12.4 million Syrians are food insecure and that 5.5 million Syrians are likely to need food support between 2022 and 2033, half of them in the north of the country.