Why is Syria in danger of losing a generation?
The lives of well over two million children have been destroyed or certainly seriously disrupted. They can no longer access education. Theyre being denied health services. They have been traumatised by their experiences, caught up in fighting, shelling and seen their communities destroyed around them. About half a million children at least also now live as refugees outside the country. Children are being robbed of the basic building blocks of their childhood.
How many children have been killed in the conflict?
We cant say with certainty. But we do know that children have not just been caught up they have not just been killed or maimed in shelling or air strikes, or bombs or IEDs [improvised explosive devices] but they are also in some instances actually being targeted. This is, of course, a very shocking development and something weve been warning against and appealing for an end to since the conflict started.
What are the most pressing humanitarian concerns facing Syrian refugees today?
They include the most basic things like shelter and clean water because youve got such damage to infrastructure. Water supply is much reduced and is often contaminated, so there is a great risk of disease outbreaks. We have already seen some incidents of typhoid. There are also food shortages price increases have put many basic foods beyond the reach of many ordinary people, so children are not getting the kind of nutrition they need. Schools are not open and functioning. Thousands of schools have been taken over and used as shelters for displaced families. Many teachers have fled and are no longer turning up for work or have been killed.
How much money does UNICEF require to meet Syrian refugees humanitarian needs?
In December 2012, a joint UN appeal was issued, which is the latest appeal and it was for a total of $1.5 billion, one billion of which was for up to one million refugees in different countries. And the other half a billion was for inside Syria itself. Those figures are under review as we speak. The $1.5 billion was to cover humanitarian needs only in the first six months of 2013 and we are already half way through that period. So there is a rapid re-evaluation going on and by the end of April, you will see a new SHARP (Syria Humanitarian Assistance Response Plan) with even higher figures.
How do you plan to reach your fundraising target?
We were part of the big fundraising donors meeting that took place in Kuwait at the end of January, where some big pledges were made. We are now in urgent discussions with donors, who have been incredibly generous. So we are issuing reports to highlight the fact that unless we can mobilise more funding, the work that we are doing now is going to be threatened, rapidly.
What lifesaving interventions will likely be stopped if you dont receive additional funding?
We will have to stop some of the basic operations such as supplying water to the Zaatari refugee camp in Jordan. This will not be viable in a month or so, unless we get funding. The World Food Programme doesnt have money for food for all the 1.7 million people they are feeding now inside Syria. Times are desperate. We know that Japan has come forward with some extra money recently but targets have still to be met.
How much interest is there and how much work has been accomplished by GCC charities?
Gulf Co-operation Council (GCC) countries have their own relief agencies that do some valuable work on the ground and have done for years, not just when the crisis began. However, some do not have access inside the country, sometimes for political reasons, sometimes for other reasons but definitely they are critical partners.
As UNICEF, we take our coordination roles in areas of education and child protection, water and sanitation very seriously. Thats where the interface takes place on the ground between the work that we do and the work that is done by other agencies, including those from the Gulf.
How much reconstruction and rehabilitation has been possible in the last two years since the conflict began?
Reconstruction is sadly way down the line. We can start talking about that once we have a political settlement and peace; until then were dealing with an ever-growing humanitarian catastrophe, which threatens the entire country and the region. Jordan, for example has a population of eight million and something like half a million Syrians. In Lebanon, Syrians are already more than 10 per cent of the population. Were looking at serious demographic imbalances as things escalate as more and more people look to leave. Simon Ingram was speaking to Jennifer Gnana.
