Syrian refugees in Lebanon at risk of dying from malnutrition

Hundreds of Syrian children who have fled to neighboring Lebanon to escape their country’s civil war are increasingly at risk of dying from malnutrition, international aid organizations said in a report on Tuesday. The assessment conducted by the United Nations children’s fund UNICEF and other agencies found that about 10,000 Syrians under five years old are suffering from acute malnutrition, including around 1,800 who are at risk of dying and require immediate treatment to survive. The study was based on a sample of about 9,000 refugees across Lebanon, where more than 935,000 Syrians have registered with the U.N. since Syria’s conflict began in 2011 – swelling the existing population of 4 million. UNICEF warned that the prevalence of malnutrition in some parts of Lebanon had almost doubled since 2012 and could deteriorate further.