UNICEF Calls for Additional $100 Million to Combat Coronavirus in MENA Region

The UN agency tasked with protecting the rights and wellbeing of children on Monday appealed for nearly $100 million in additional funds to help fight the coronavirus pandemic in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA). According to Ted Chaiban, UNICEF’s regional director, the most acute concerns center on Yemen, where, after five-plus years of civil war, half of the country’s health centers are no longer operational and an estimated two million children are malnourished, some 400,000 of them on the brink of starvation. “If you don’t get support to them every month, you have a 50% increase in the mortality rate among those [Yemeni] children [facing severe hunger],” Chaiban was quoted as saying. “It was already critical to address the needs of children in Yemen. With COVID-19, now you’ve got this extra layer of vulnerability.” More than 218,000 cases of coronavirus have been confirmed in the MENA region, resulting in about 8,000 deaths. In addition to its existing nutrition and immunization services, UNICEF is hoping to use the extra funds to establish isolation centers and improve water and sanitation in hard-hit countries. It has also launched awareness campaigns about social distancing and personal hygiene. Prior to the health crisis, 25 million children in the region required humanitarian assistance. Four million more have since been pushed into poverty due to the economic shocks caused by nationwide shutdowns across the globe.