GENEVA/DAMASCUS — Despite an intensification of violence and significant funding gaps, UNICEF is stepping up delivery of humanitarian assistance in Syria, targeting increasing numbers of the more than 4 million people known to be in need of humanitarian assistance, according to the group's press release. “Even as the situation deteriorates, UNICEF has managed to expand its operations to deliver essential relief supplies like blankets, children's clothes, hygiene items, plastic sheets, and high-energy biscuits,” said Youssouf Abdel-Jelil, UNICEF Representative in Syria. “Many of these deliveries were made as part of recent cross-line operations.” “With the security situation as it is currently, it's been a huge challenge to be able to reach some of these areas,” added Abdel-Jelil. “But thanks to the efforts of our partners and our own staff on the ground, we have succeeded in making real progress.” Most recently, UNICEF was part of an inter-agency mission which Saturday delivered a first batch of critical and life-saving relief items to 6,000 internally displaced persons in Karameh in Syria's northwestern Idlib Province. Some of the cities reached in the past three weeks have experienced prolonged and severe conflict. In the northern city of Aleppo, for example, UNICEF and its local partners have distributed 45,000 blankets and quilts — items that are desperately needed during the current winter. In Deir Ezzor, Al-Hasaka, Homs, Idlib, Al-Raqqa and Damascus, meanwhile, a total of some 90,000 blankets were distributed to children and their families, along with 14,000 plastic sheets and more than 10,000 sets of children's clothes. In Tartus and Homs (including Talbiseh), UNICEF reached 7,000 children with 176 school-in-a-carton kits, which contain educational materials. The latest supply deliveries coincide with an ongoing operation to deliver 1,000 metric tons of water treatment supplies to Syria. Chlorine is needed to ensure that water reaching an estimated 10 million people in different parts of the country remains safe. UNICEF estimates that due to the destruction of water infrastructure, water availability in some areas has dropped to a third of pre-conflict levels. — SG
