Child stunting in Syria could reach levels never seen before as earthquakes threaten to push 665,000 people into hunger
The economic impact of the earthquakes that ripped through southern Türkiye and northern Syria 100 days ago threatens to push at least another 665,000 Syrians into hunger, with doctors and aid agencies warning that levels of child stunting and maternal malnutrition are reaching levels never seen before, said Save the Children today [1].
The number of Syrians acutely food insecure and facing hunger had already reached 12.1 million people - more than half the population - before the first devastating earthquake hit in the early hours of 6 February.
About one in four children under the age of five - or more than 600,000 children - were already stunted across Syria, while in opposition held North West Syria alone, child stunting rates had increased month on month from June to December 2022 and one in eight pregnant women were acutely malnourished [2].
Stunting has a lasting effect on a child’s development, both physically and mentally, and leaves them more susceptible to infection. Malnourished pregnant women run an increased risk of miscarriages, along with anaemia and even dying during childbirth, while their babies may be born prematurely and, if they survive, suffer from stunted growth. Malnourished and stunted children are also at an increased risk of becoming severely ill or even dying if they contract cholera, which has been spreading across the country since the outbreak began in September 2022.
The earthquakes have since exacerbated the toxic combination of increased cost of living, loss of incomes and a healthcare system pushed to the brink, threatening even more children with severe hunger.
A World Bank damage assessment published in March found Syria’s economy is expected to contract by at least 5.5% in 2023 following the earthquake [3]. The impact also caused a spike in the cost of basic food items such as bread, which jumped 20% in some areas, while onions have become so expensive, they’re now considered a luxury item. The average monthly wage in Syria now only covers about a quarter of a family’s food needs.
Yanal*, 44, said his 10-month-old son has been suffering from severe malnutrition since the earthquake.
"Our situation was good. I worked as a daily worker. After the earthquake, we are sitting without doing anything and my son suffers from severe malnutrition. The situation is very dire," he said.
The earthquakes killed about 6,000 people and injured a further 12,000 across Syria. Of the 8.8 million Syrians impacted by the earthquakes, 3.7 million were children and pregnant women.
Even before the earthquake, Syria’s economy had been decimated by 12 years of conflict and the global economic downturn brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic.
With the earthquakes partially or totally destroying dozens of health clinics across the country, Save the Children’s Regional Nutrition Adviser warns that it is going to be all the more difficult to fight an increase in hunger.
"Of the health clinics that remained after 12 years of conflict, many have now been destroyed by the earthquakes, while the compounding stresses of the conflict, the pandemic, and the earthquakes have taken an unbearable toll on healthcare workers. I fear there’s a real risk that this hunger crisis could spiral out of control," said Antenanie Enyew, Save the Children’s Regional Nutrition Adviser .
ENDS
*Names changed to protect identities.
- https://www.wfp.org/news/half-syrias-population-faces-hunger-conflict-passes-12-year-milestone-and-earthquakes-deepen
- https://www.humanitarianresponse.info/en/operations/stima/document/nw-syria-smart-survey-2022
- https://documents1.worldbank.org/curated/en/099093003162314369/pdf/P1721710e2b4a60b40a5940f0793f8a0d24.pdf
- https://www.ilo.org/global/about-the-ilo/newsroom/news/WCMS_873769/lang--en/index.htm
- https://app.powerbi.com/view?r=eyJrIjoiYmMxN2MxNjItYjYxMS00NmY1LTlhOTYtNThlMGViMDFiNDc1IiwidCI6ImY2MTBjMGI3LWJkMjQtNGIzOS04MTBiLTNkYzI4MGFmYjU5MCIsImMiOjh9
- https://data.worldbank.org/country/syrian-arab-republic
- https://reliefweb.int/report/syrian-arab-republic/2019-humanitarian-needs-overview-syrian-arab-republic-enar
- https://www.unicef.org/syria/media/11246/file/Syria-humanitarian-response-snapshot-health-nutrition-Aug-2022.pdf