Lack of water access in Damascus is creating risks for children, UN warns

6 January 2017 – Following two weeks with no access to running water for millions of people in and around Damascus due to ongoing fighting near the Syrian capital, the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) today raised the alarm over a potential increase in diarrheal diseases among children.

While private distributors are providing water, Christophe Boulierac, a spokesperson for UNICEF, told reporters at the regular bi-weekly press briefing in Geneva that he is worried about quality and price of those supplies.

Residents have been able to access water for up to two hours every three or four days through water rationing. But many have turned to private distributors, where neither price nor quality are regulated, prompting concerns about the risk of water-borne diseases among children. In many areas, families are paying up to $12 for only 1,000 litres of water.