Riyadh-The United Nations Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF) has revealed to Asharq Al-Awsat newspaper the urgent need to provide humanitarian aid to eight million of Syria’s children, who are suffering from the ravaging civil war.

The aid is estimated to be around $800 million, said UNICEF, noting that there are more than 14 million children who are neither able to study nor attend schools at war zones and areas in the MENA region.

Furthermore, there are around 10 million Yemeni children who are in need for urgent humanitarian aid, including 300 thousand children who remain unschooled.

UNICEF, however, noted a $60 million shortage of humanitarian funding that is supposed to be delivered to Yemeni children.

Spokesperson at UNICEF in Jordan Juliette Touma said during a phone call with Asharq Al-Awsat that the “UNICEF urges the international community to constantly support the humanitarian program, highlighting the urgent need for delivering aid to more than 18 million Syrian and Yemeni children in all conflict areas in the countries, at the borders, and in neighboring countries.”

Touma pointed out that Saudi Arabia has donated $30 million to aid Yemeni children.

She added: “Despite great efforts put by the UNICEF through an integrated program to provide humanitarian aids for Syrian and Yemeni children in precise and for children in other war zones in general, more support is still needed in this regard.”

“More than $800 million are allocated for humanitarian aid for more than eight million Syrian children affected by the war, while there is shortage in Yemen for about 10 million children who are in need for more than $60 million.”

Touma confirmed that the international community is responding positively for these calls, but the UN is still facing great challenges with the urgent need for humanitarian aid at this time.