250,000 refugee children in Lebanon suffer lack of food, powder milk

Newly born Syrian children in Lebanese camps suffer a humanitarian crisis represented in the United Nations High Commission for Refugees not acknowledging these infants as refugees thus depriving them of health care or aid relief.

The suffering of these children’s parents is exacerbated due to the lack of solutions to help them overcome the issue especially as most of them are already living under the poverty line and do not have sufficient funds to support their families’ daily needs.

The lack of availability of milk or its purposeful absence prompted mothers to depend on alternative sources of nutrition such as mixing water and sugar or giving the babies Turkish delight or condensed syrup.

Hassan Amar, an incubator specialist and part of the medical committee in Arsal, said that these alternative nutrition damages infants’ digestive system may cause diarrhea, stomach cramps, dehydration and even death.

According to United Nations statistics, 250,000 children under the age of sixteen are living in the camps in Lebanon. Of those children, 35% are in their first few years of life, but the food appropriate for their age remains unavailable until further notice.

More than one million Syrians have sought refuge in Lebanon from the devastating conflict in their homeland that has killed more than 430,000 people.

Over a third live in makeshift housing in the Bekaa valley near the Syrian border, where temperatures have dropped below freezing in recent days.

Nearly six years of conflict in Syria have driven more than half the population from their homes, with many fleeing abroad.

Because Lebanon has not signed the 1951 UN Refugee Convention, it treats Syrians as foreigners, not refugees.

Syrian refugees struggle to get by in Lebanon despite aid from international organizations. Those who register for residency must pledge not to work.