A million children forced to flee fighting in Syria
The number of children forced to flee Syria has now reached 1 million, the United Nations has said.
The number of children forced to flee Syria has now reached 1 million, the United Nations has said today in a new report.
The UN’s refugee agency (UNHCR) and children’s charity (UNICEF) say millions more also need help within the country.
International Development Secretary Justine Greening said:
As we saw again this week, children in Syria are being exposed to unimaginable horrors. These children are extremely vulnerable and will be amongst the most at risk as fighting continues.
One million child refugees, the majority younger than 11, is a truly shocking milestone but the world must not forget the estimated 3.1 million children still in need of help inside Syria.
The UK is working with the UNHCR, UNICEF and partners to help children caught up in the crisis – from food and clothing to education and trauma counselling. Across the region, this includes:
- education for almost 35,000 children
- counselling for 13,000 child refugees and their families
- emergency food for over 285,000 people a month
More information:
For full details of the UK’s Syria crisis humanitarian response, please see: Syria crisis: Latest updates on UK aid
For all news on how the UK government is responding to events in and around Syria, please visit: UK and Syria