Coronavirus: Unicef Middle East seek aid to protect children

The region has the highest number of children in need of anywhere in the world

Yemeni children play next to damaged tents due to torrential rain in a makeshift camp for the displaced in the northern Hajjah province. AFP

The United Nations children’s agency on Monday launched a global appeal for US$92.4 million to help fight the coronavirus pandemic in the Middle East and North Africa, a conflict-battered region with the highest number of children in need anywhere.

Unicef said the region was home to 25 million children in need facing ongoing and recent conflicts, high unemployment rates among young people and "multidimension" poverty, including a lack of education, water, health care and nutrition.

The agency predicted that the closure of businesses due to strict coronavirus measures in the region and lockdowns

mean that a further 25 million jobs would be lost on 2020, pushing a further eight million people below the poverty line, half of them children.

The money raised by the appeal will be used to continue the response effort, helping parents deal with the psychologic stress of lockdown and combatting the "infodemic" of fake news that has grown up around the pandemic. They are running awareness campaigns about social distancing and hygiene, which are particularly difficult in crowded neighborhoods and refugee camps.