Attachments
Highlights
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Polio vaccination campaigns in April reached a reported 2.9 million children under 5 in Syria; 549,768 in Lebanon; and 14.5 million in Egypt. 5.8 million children under 5 in Iraq were vaccinated in May.
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Chlorine was delivered to Deir-ez-Zour and Ar-Raqqa for treatment of the drinking water supply for one month. It is estimated that a total 1.5 million people will benefit from safe drinking water as a result of this intervention, of which 1.3 million people are in opposition controlled areas.
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UNICEF participated in four UN humanitarian missions including to besieged Nubul and Zahara and hard- to -reach towns in rural Aleppo delivering assistance for 10,000 people the first time in 23 months.
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Distribution of life-saving supplies from the inter-agency convoy from Turkey through Nusyabin border crossing in March, is nearly completed with 80 per cent of the targeted beneficiaries reached with WASH and non-food items.
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Azraq camp opened on 28 April to accommodate new arrivals from Syria. In the first three weeks, some 5,600 refugees were transported from border.
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In Lebanon, UNICEF continues to augment and repair water provision systems for the most vulnerable Lebanese and Syrian refugees, especially during the exceptionally dry summer which is being foreseen. In April, UNICEF replaced three water pumps in the Bekaa to benefit 29,128 people.
Water scarcity and sanitation crisis threatens lives of millions of Syrian children
Given the prolonged nature of the crisis, the scale of destruction of water and sanitation infrastructure in Syria, the sharp increase in demand for water resources in neighbouring countries due to refugee influxes, and the compounding nature of the impending drought, UNICEF requires urgent funding ($58 million) by 30 June 2014 to continue providing critical live-saving access to water and sanitation services to populations in need in both Syria and neighbouring countries.