UNICEF virus appeal over conflict-torn Yemen, Syria

The UN children's agency appealed Monday for an additional $92.4 million to help fight the coronavirus in the Middle East and North Africa, a conflict-battered region with the highest number of children in need anywhere.

The additional funding is needed for a range of programs across the region to soften the blow of the pandemic, said Ted Chaiban, the regional chief of UNICEF.

Before the pandemic, some 25 million children in the region were in need of humanitarian aid.

UNICEF estimates an additional four million children are being pushed into poverty, as millions of adults in the region lose their income due to nationwide lockdowns meant to fight the pandemic, Chaiban said.

In addition to its regular nutrition and immunization services, the agency is helping to establish isolation centers and improve water and sanitation.

UNICEF is also running awareness campaigns about social distancing and hygiene, which are particularly difficult in crowded neighborhoods and refugee camps, he said.

Yemen is a top concern, said Chaiban, as after five years of civil war, half the health centers in Yemen no longer operate.

Two million children are malnourished, including 400,000 who suffer from severe acute malnutrition.

So far, there has only been one confirmed coronavirus patient in Yemen, but testing capabilities are limited and there are concerns the virus might be spreading undetected.

More than 218,000 infections have been reported in the Middle East, including close to 8,000 deaths, the vast majority in Iran.