Child Malnutrition In Syria's Opposition-held Ghouta Worst In The War, UN Says

27 December 2017

EsinIslam And Agencies

Childhood malnutrition levels in Syria's Eastern Ghouta region, under Assad regime siege since 2013, are the highest recorded in the country since its six-year war began, the U.N. said Wednesday.

The U.N. children's agency UNICEF said a November survey in the opposition-held area outside Damascus showed 11.9 percent of children under five were suffering from acute malnutrition, "the highest rate ever recorded in Syria" since the conflict started.

Humanitarian agencies have warned several times in recent months about the situation in Eastern Ghouta, after reports of deaths among children suffering malnutrition.

UNICEF said more than one-third of children covered in the study it conducted in the region in early November were stunted, "elevating their risk of delayed development, illness and death."

"Acute malnutrition rates are highest among very young children," it added.

"Mothers of children under 2-years-old have reportedly reduced or stopped breast-feeding altogether because of their own poor nutrition and the constant violence."

UNICEF said a similar survey in the area in January showed 2.1 percent of children were suffering from acute malnutrition, suggesting sharply worsening conditions.

Eastern Ghouta is one of the last remaining opposition strongholds in Syria, and has been under a tight regime siege since 2013 that has caused food and medical shortages.

Some food is still grown locally, or smuggled in, but humanitarian access to the region has been limited despite regular calls from aid agencies.

"The rapidly rising costs of basic foods and cooking supplies have made preparing a meal out of reach for most," UNICEF said, noting that a portion of bread cost 85 times more in Eastern Ghouta than in Damascus, just a few kilometers away.

Eastern Ghouta falls into one of four "de-escalation zones" set up under a deal between regime allies Russia and Iran, and rebel backer Turkey, agreed earlier this year.

But while the zone initially brought some calm, violence has increased steadily in recent weeks, with regime airstrikes and artillery fire killing dozens in recent days, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitor.

Aid access has also improved little since the zone was implemented, though the U.N. has been able to deliver assistance sporadically.

On Tuesday, the U.N. and Syria's Arab Red Crescent sent an aid convoy carrying assistance including "medications to treat malnutrition" into Eastern Ghouta.

Earlier this month, another convoy reached the town of Douma in the region.

The spiraling violence in the area has prompted international concerns, and the U.N.'s Syria envoy said Tuesday that Damascus had agreed to a ceasefire in Eastern Ghouta.

But the Observatory reported renewed regime shelling on the area on Wednesday afternoon.

More than 340,000 people have been killed in Syria since the conflict began in March 2011 with anti-government protests.

UN Security Council Renews Aid To Syria Opposition Areas, Russia Abstains Vote

French Press Agency

The U.N. Security Council on Tuesday voted to renew cross-border aid deliveries to Syria's opposition-held areas for one year, but Russia abstained and said the relief operation should wind down.

Russia had demanded changes to the aid operation that has allowed since 2014 convoys to cross into Syria from Turkey and Jordan without the approval of the Assad regime in Damascus.

Russian Deputy Ambassador Vladimir Safronkov argued that the situation in Syria had "changed radically" over the past three years and that cross-border aid was "a legacy of the past."

"We think it is important to gradually draw down this rudimentary scheme which has worked for Syria's division," said Safronkov.

The resolution put forward by Egypt, Japan and Sweden was adopted by a vote of 12 in favor, Russia, China and Bolivia abstaining.

The United Nations maintains that the cross-border deliveries are a lifeline to Syrians living in rebel-held territory because the government in Damascus has heavily restricted aid shipments to those areas.

More than 13 million people need humanitarian aid in Syria, now in its seventh year of war.

Cross-border aid reaches one million Syrians per month, on average, according to U.N. aid officials.

The adoption of the resolution extending the aid operation came after Russia used its veto power to block a chemical weapons investigation, triggering a major clash at the council among big powers over Syria.

Russia has used its veto 11 times at the council to thwart action directed at its Syrian ally.

Moscow has argued that the aid operation undermines Syria's sovereignty because aid agencies must notify but not seek permission from Damascus for the deliveries inside Syria.

Safronkov said aid agencies must return to the "traditional" approach of working with the Assad regime on providing humanitarian assistance to the entire country.

The United Nations must "make plans for a gradual withdrawal from this cross-border scheme," he said. 

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