SAUDI ARABIA: UNICEF says Syria's refugee children lack basic necessities but the organisation urgently needs millions of dollars to be able to help them

Record ID: 189098

  • Title: SAUDI ARABIA: UNICEF says Syria's refugee children lack basic necessities but the organisation urgently needs millions of dollars to be able to help them
  • Date: 16th January 2013
  • Summary: RIYADH, SAUDI ARABIA (JANUARY 15, 2013) (REUTERS) BANNER READING (ARABIC) 'UNICEF - TOGETHER FOR THE SAKE OF CHILDREN' UNICEF REPRESENTATIVE FOR THE GULF AREA, DR. IBRAHIM AL-ZIQ WALKING TOWARDS PODIUM BANNER READING (ARABIC) 'EVERY CHILD HAS THE RIGHT TO LEARN IN DIGNITY' DR. IBRAHIM AL-ZIQ WELCOMING PARTICIPANTS TO JOINT FORUM ON SOCIAL PROTECTION POLICIES FOR CHILDREN VARIOUS OF AUDIENCE LISTENING (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) UNICEF REPRESENTATIVE FOR THE GULF AREA, DR. IBRAHIM AL-ZIQ, SAYING: "The number of children at Zaatari camp has reached around 30 percent of the total number of refugees in the camp. The children are in need of shelter, they need food, warmth, education and psychological help so that they can overcome the trauma they have been through." POSTER OF A GIRL AND AN ARMED MAN, CAPTION READS (ARABIC): 'PROTECTION OF CHILDREN IS NOT AN OPTION BUT THEIR RIGHT' (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) UNICEF REPRESENTATIVE FOR THE GULF AREA, DR. IBRAHIM AL-ZIQ, SAYING: "Ban Ki-moon has called for a conference on January 30 in Kuwait for all states, or order to help bridge the large financial gap. We are talking about 90 million dollars, we urgently need 90 million dollars to help our Syrian refugee brothers in Jordan, Lebanon, Turkey, Iraq and inside Syria." CONFERENCE IN PROGRESS VARIOUS OF PARTICIPANT WRITING POSTER OF A CHILD WITH CAPTION READING (ARABIC) 'REDUCE CHILD MORTALITY' POSTER OF A GIRL AND AN ARMED MAN, CAPTION READS (ARABIC): 'PROTECTION OF CHILDREN IS NOT AN OPTION BUT THEIR RIGHT'
  • Embargoed: 31st January 2013 12:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Saudi Arabia
  • Country: Saudi Arabia
  • Topics: Conflict,International Relations,Politics
  • Reuters ID: LVA8JXRJ6WMAPGGB3QV0W14Q6I9D
  • Story Text: Syria's refugee children are in desperate need of help, a UNICEF conference heard on Tuesday (January 15).
    At a two-day event in Saudi Arabia focusing on the protection and welfare of children in the Kingdom and wider region, the U.N. agency said children living at a refugee camp in Jordan lacked the most basic necessities.

    "The number of children at Zaatari camp has reached around 30 percent of the total number of refugees in the camp. The children are in need of shelter, they need food, warmth, education and psychological help so that they can overcome the trauma they have been through," said the organisation's representative in the Gulf region, Dr. Ibrahim al-Ziq.
    UNICEF says more than two million children who have fled the fighting in Syria are struggling to stay warm in some of the worst winter conditions in years.
    Saudi Arabia said last week it would send 10 million U.S dollars worth of aid to help Syrian refugees in Jordan, where torrential rain flooded hundreds of tents in the Zaatari refugee camp.
    But al-Ziq indicated the figure was nowhere near enough to help the hundreds of thousands of refugees sheltering in camps in various neighbouring countries.

    "Ban Ki-moon has called for a conference on January 30 in Kuwait for all states, or order to help bridge the large financial gap. We are talking about 90 million dollars, we urgently need 90 million dollars to help our Syrian refugee brothers in Jordan, Lebanon, Turkey, Iraq and inside Syria," he said.
    A fierce storm that swept the region has raised concerns for the 600,000 Syrian refugees who have fled to neighbouring countries, as well as more than 2.5 million displaced inside Syria, many of whom live in flimsy tents at unofficial border camps.
    Opposition activists reported dozens of weather-related deaths in Syria last week and UNICEF said refugee children were at risk because conditions had hampered access to services.
    Also last week, another United Nations agency said around one million Syrians were going hungry. The World Food Programme cited difficulties entering conflict zones and said that the few government-approved aid agencies allowed to distribute aid were stretched to the limit.
    The WFP said it was supplying rations to about 1.5 million people in Syria each month, far short of the 2.5 million deemed to be in need.
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