UNICEF_2021_19-Jan_Idlib_Kafr-Losin-camps-destroyed-heavy-rain_K
On 19 January 2021, Abu Qutaiba carries his 11-year-old son, Kamel, through a flooded area in Kafr Losin Camp in northwest Syrian Arab Republic. Abu says of the situation, „We fled the fighting and the shelling [in rural Idlib] to find shelter for our children. Now the rain has come and flooded our camp. We are in desperate need of help. We barely managed to get the children out of the tents. We don’t know where to go. It has been three days and the camp is still flooded.” Kamel adds, “We came here to run away from the fighting back in our village. But now look at how the camp is flooded. We still go to school at six in the morning but spend all the time there shivering from the cold, then come back to our wet tents.” Over the past few days, western Aleppo and Idlib governorates in the northwest of the country have been experiencing some of the heaviest winter storms so far this season. The heavy rainfall has flooded tents and cut off roads leading to camps for internally displaced families. While the damage continues to be assessed, there are reports of more than 1,700 households in the area have been affected by the flooding, exposing children to worsening severe winter conditions.
Almost 10 years of conflict, displacement and loss of livelihoods has taken an immeasurable toll on children and their families northwestern Syria. UNICEF estimates that 1.2 million children in the northwest of Syria are in desperate need. Children and families are taking refuge in public facilities, schools, mosques, unfinished buildings and shops. Many are living in the open air including in parks, amidst heavy rains and in the freezing cold. Access to the most basic services like health, water or sanitation is either very limited or non-existent.
The recent economic downturn in Syria, and the impact of the coronavirus epidemic has further compounded a desperate situation.
UNICEF urgently requires US$ 22.44 million to reach 435,000 children under-15 and new-born babies wi