The United Nations launched an appeal Friday for 20 million U.S. dollars to help up to 1 million drought affected people in Syria for a period of six months.
A vast majority of the funding is required for livelihoods and food, said Elisabeth Byrs, spokeswoman of the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).
Syria is currently experiencing a drought that is by far the worst over the past four decades, according to OCHA.
The Syrian government estimated that up to 1 million people -- predominantly herders and subsistence farmers -- are at risk of losing their livelihoods and of increased malnutrition.
Up to 59,000 small herders lost almost all their herds and 47,000 herders lost 50 percent to 60 percent of their livestock.
Food prices have risen at a rate that has outstripped household incomes and the purchasing power of the general population, especially in the drought-affected areas, Byrs said.
Anemia, malnutrition and diarrhea are on the rise in the country, especially among children under the age of five, as well as among pregnant women.
Availability of drinking water also decreased in the rural areas of north-eastern Syria, particularly in those villages depending on protected wells as their only water source.
The situation is not expected to improve until the spring 2009,if the rains do not fail for a second year in a row.
Source: Xinhua
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