Step up support for Syrian children: UNICEF to international community

Geneva: The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) Tuesday urged the international community to scale up support for the Syrian children affected by the over-30-month crisis and to back up a global initiative of delivering assistance to them, Xinhua reported. The one-billion-dollar “No Lost Generation” initiative focuses on critical education and protection programs intended to lift Syrian children, the most vulnerable group in the ongoing violence, out of misery and pains caused by the conflict, according to UNICEF. [caption id=“attachment_1328113” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Syrian refugees in Lebanon. AP[/caption] Statistics from UNICEF showed that the number of Syrian children refugees exceeded 1 million, and over 3 million displaced children inside the war-torn country were mired into dire situation. “The children of Syria have endured daily horrors and misery we can only imagine, and their dreams for the future are in danger of being crushed,” said Anthony Lake, executive director of UNICEF. “Preventing the loss of this generation requires more support, bigger and bolder commitments and renewed solidarity to avoid a continuing cycle of violence, hatred and intolerance in a region that has suffered too much,” Lake said. IANS