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UN says 420,000 people need immediate assistance in Syria

02 February 2013 01:12 (UTC +04:00)

Baku-APA. The UN children's agency said Friday 420,000 people, half of them are children, need immediate humanitarian assistance in the western Syrian governorate of Homs, APA reports quoting Xinhua.

Marixie Mercado, UNICEF spokeswoman told reporters that about 700,000 people across the governorate were severely affected by the current conflict.

Two hundred of 1,500 schools in Homs have been damaged as a result of the fighting, while another 65 are sheltering children and families, she said.

Health care is also a huge concern in Syria. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), the shortage of medicines is becoming more critical, both in public sector hospitals and medical clinics and in private sector facilities.

Hospitals are in severe need of anesthesia, antibiotics, serums and other essential medicines.

Other UN Agencies are continuing their operations in the country. The United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR) said the delivery of 15,000 blankets and 2000 tents has been completed as its first winter emergency relief to the Azzas area of northern Syria.

There are now 728,553 Syrian refugees in neighboring countries including Lebanon, Jordan, Turkey, Iraq, Egypt and North Africa, according to UNHCR.