A UNICEF report released this week has revealed that over 500,000 Syrian children under five are severely malnourished and suffering life-threatening risks to their physical and mental development.
Syria has been ravaged by 14 years of brutal conflict and hundreds of families are now witnessing the dire effects of malnutrition first-hand.
Some children of only four years weigh just 10 kilograms and require specialised nutrition and monthly medical tests, which most families can’t afford in areas like Rif Dimashq province, which surrounds the Syrian capital.
Similarly, some 15-year-old teenagers weigh only 25 kilograms and stand 125 centimetres tall, a result of insufficient nutrition during their early years. The condition is linked to poor nutrient absorption due to inadequate food.
Other children battle malnutrition since birth, with mothers attributing their condition to a lack of adequate nutrition during pregnancy.
The consequences of severe malnutrition are often tragically fatal. Ali Mahmoud, a 12-year-old from rural Damascus, recently passed away after a long battle with a malnutrition-related illness, leaving his family devastated.
Syria’s northwest region is particularly affected by the unprecedented crisis, with Global Acute Malnutrition (GAM) rates rising to nearly five per cent in 2023, a staggering threefold increase since 2019.
According to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), nine out of ten Syrian children are no longer consuming minimally acceptable diets, resulting in alarming rates of stunting and wasting.
Dietician Safaa Manjed Ahmad told The New Arab’s sister site Al-Araby Al-Jadeed that the deadly condition during a child’s first five years is closely linked to maternal malnutrition, especially in the early stages of pregnancy.
The primary causes of the crisis are poverty, skyrocketing living costs, limited access to nutritious food, and poor dietary practices. Many families struggle to provide basic items, relying too heavily on carbohydrates and processed foods while essential proteins remain out of reach for them.
The traumatic stress of Syria’s conflict, coupled with the economic and social strain, has led to psychological issues like anorexia and neurotic wasting in children.
Hamza Barhoum, director of Save the Children’s Syria operations, called for urgent coordinated action. He said that while numerous international organisations work on addressing malnutrition, the scale of the crisis is beyond their capacity.
Families face overwhelming economic hardship, and the lack of infrastructure in affected areas only worsens the situation.
Save the Children’s efforts focus on both preventive and medical strategies. These include educating mothers, supporting breastfeeding, and providing essential hygiene kits. Medical interventions are offered through primary health centres and hospitals, with follow-up care to ensure children’s health does not deteriorate further.
The situation has worsened in recent months, primarily due to a significant reduction in international funding. By 2024, the total humanitarian contributions dropped by 15% per cent compared to the previous year, with more reductions expected in the future.
This month, the EU led the way as donors pledged $5.8 billion euros in aid for Syria at a conference in Brussels – but the call for funding to help the war-torn country after Bashar al-Assad’s ouster fell short of last year as US support dries up.
Western and regional powers say they want to steer Syria onto the road to stability after 14 years of civil war that have sent millions of refugees over its borders.
However, they have not yet removed all the sanctions they imposed during the Assad regime’s brutal rule, something which Syrians say will hold the country back from meaningful recovery.
Overall the EU said international donors pledged 5.8 billion euros ($6.3 billion), consisting of 4.2 billion euros in grants and 1.6 billion in loans. That was down on the 7.5 billion promised overall at the conference last year.
