Save the Children warned on Wednesday that more than 400,000 children in Syria are at risk of suffering from 'severe malnutrition' following the suspension of U.S. aid stating it has had to reduce its activities in the country.
In a statement, Bujar Hoxha, Save the Children's director for Syria, called on the international community to urgently fill the funding gap, emphasizing that the needs are 'higher than ever' after years of war and economic collapse.
'More than 416,000 children in Syria are currently at significant risk of severe malnutrition following the sudden suspension of foreign aid,' according to the statement, which explains it refers to American aid.
U.S. President Donald Trump dismantled the USAID, the U.S. development agency, which managed an annual budget of $42.8 billion, accounting for 42% of humanitarian aid disbursed globally.
The freezing of this aid forced Save the Children to suspend more than a third of its nutrition programs in Syria, impacting more than 40,500 children under five years old, according to the statement.
Hoxha stated that this comes 'at the worst possible time' because 'the needs in Syria are greater than ever.'
Save the Children's clinics that remain open show 'an increase in cases of malnutrition,' added the charity organization.
Nearly 14 years of conflict that have devastated Syria have almost obliterated the country’s health system and infrastructure.
In February, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) estimated that nine out of ten Syrians now live in poverty and face food insecurity, noting that 'malnutrition is on the rise, particularly among children.'
According to Save the Children, more than 650,000 children under five years old in Syria are now suffering from 'chronic malnutrition,' and more than 7.5 million children across the country need humanitarian aid, 'the highest number since the beginning of the crisis.'
Calling on the international community to urgently intervene to fill the gap, Mr. Hoxha stressed that the children of Syria 'are paying the price for decisions made thousands of miles away.'