Press Release

Lifesaving Supplies Reach Syrian Children in War-Torn Aleppo

UNICEF and partners have just completed delivery of life-saving supplies to the embattled city of Aleppo in northwestern Syria. At least 2.4 million people are affected by the conflict in Aleppo, the highest number in the country. According to UNICEF, half of these are children.

NEW YORK (July 23, 2013) – UNICEF and partners have just completed delivery of life-saving supplies to the embattled city of Aleppo in northwestern Syria. At least 2.4 million people are affected by the conflict in Aleppo, the highest number in the country. According to UNICEF, half of these are children.

The mission, which also included the Syrian Arab Red Crescent (SARC) and United Nations agencies, was part of a 15-truck convoy that travelled from Damascus to Aleppo. UNICEF’s supplies included kits to treat 30,000 people with diarrheal disease, medical kits for 20,000 people, 2,000 family hygiene kits, cooking stoves, high energy biscuits and school supplies. UNICEF also delivered five generators and eight water tanks that will provide safe drinking water to more than one million people in Aleppo. The installation of these generators has already begun.

“The humanitarian situation in Aleppo is desperate,” said Yoka Brandt, UNICEF Deputy Executive Director who was in Damascus last week. “Our goal is to reach children who most need our assistance, no matter where they are.” 

“Humanitarian needs, especially for food, water and shelter, are very severe,” said Ahmedou Bahah, head of UNICEF’s Water, Sanitation and Hygiene programs in Syria, who accompanied the convoy.

With the conflict in Syria in its third year, living conditions, especially in the worst affected areas, have become deplorable. Prices have tripled or quadrupled, affecting the provision of basic supplies and households’ purchasing power. Families are struggling to provide food for their children.

Since the beginning of the year, UNICEF has participated in 20 United Nations convoys, 15 of which were to areas controlled by opposition groups.

Through these and other missions, UNICEF and partners provided 10 million people with access to safe drinking water, vaccinated 1.5 million children, enrolled more than 300,000 children in schools and supported more than 450 school clubs where children receive the psychological services needed to overcome some of the horrors they have witnessed.

In addition to UNICEF and SARC, the Aleppo mission included the following agencies: World Food Programme (WFP), United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), World Health Organization (WHO) United Nations Refugee Agencies (UNHCR), United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) and the International Organization for Migration (IOM). 

How to Help

For more information or to make a tax-deductible contribution to UNICEF's relief efforts, please contact the U.S. Fund for UNICEF:


Website: www.unicefusa.org/syria
Toll free: 1-800-FOR-KIDS

Text: SYRIA to 864233 to donate $10.
Mail: 125 Maiden Lane, 10th Floor, New York, NY 10038


As with any emergency, in the event that donations exceed anticipated needs, the U.S. Fund will redirect any excess funds to children in greatest need.

About UNICEF

The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) works in 190 countries and territories to save and improve children’s lives, providing health care and immunizations, clean water and sanitation, nutrition, education, emergency relief and more. The U.S. Fund for UNICEF supports UNICEF's work through fundraising, advocacy and education in the United States. Together, we are working toward the day when ZERO children die from preventable causes and every child has a safe and healthy childhood. For more information, visit www.unicefusa.org.

For additional information, please contact:

Susannah Masur, U.S. Fund for UNICEF, 212.880.9146, smasur@unicefusa.org