UN agencies: $1bn needed to prevent lost generation of Syrian children

UN Children's Fund (UNICEF), UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), Save the Children, World Vision and other aid agencies called on governments and civil society to support Syrian children inside their country and in neighbouring countries and be part of the "No Lost Generation" strategy. The humanitarian agencies said in a statement Tuesday that the strategy, estimated at USD one billion, aims to provide the Syrian children affected by the conflict with the chance to "shape a more stable and secure future" for the thousands of Syrian children affected by the three-year old conflict. The USD one billion strategy, unveiled one week ahead of the Kuwait II Donor Conference for Syria, focuses on critical education and protection programmes to lift Syrian children out of misery, isolation and trauma. The strategy will also scale up access to quality education, accelerate curricula for children who have been out of school, provide training of teachers and create safe environments that further reduce children's exposure to further risks. "As the conflict approaches another bitter anniversary, we cannot sit and watch a generation disappear in front of us," UNICEF Executive Director Anthony Lake said in a statement. "Now is the time for champions for the children of Syria, now is the time for the world to step up and provide these children with fresh hope and confidence for their future. "If we fail these children now, an entire region will lose a generation of potential leaders, teachers, engineers, doctors and - above all- peacemakers, upon whom the hope for a stable, healthy and prosperous society depends," he added. "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," he urged. The agencies said in their joint statement that for nearly three years, Syria's children have been the most vulnerable of all victims of the conflict, seeing their families and loved ones killed, their schools destroyed and their hopes eroded. They noted that too many children have been wounded either physically, psychologically or both, and have also become vulnerable to the worst types of exploitation including child labour, recruitment into armed groups and forces, early marriage and other forms of gender-based violence. Over one million, of the 2.2 million Syrian refugees in neighbouring countries, are children, of which more than 425,000 are under the age of five, with 5,000 of them being separated from their families