Children battling pneumonia as Syrian refugees face harsh winter

Families who fled fighting in Syria are facing tough conditions in neighbouring Lebanon, as storms and freezing temperatures continue to grip the country.

World Vision is supporting around 40,000 refugees who left their homes with few possessions and crossed the border to safety.

Meanwhile, more than $1.2billion has been committed by international donors to help people affected by the conflict.

Anita Delhaas-van Dijk, National Director of World Vision Lebanon, said: “The situation for families and children in Lebanon is getting worse by the day. World Vision is helping to support the most vulnerable families including those who fall through the gaps or do not have UN registration, either because they just arrived or because they are too fearful to register."

Justin Byworth, Chief Executive of World Vision UK, said: “We welcome the international community's scaling up of assistance announced today. I saw the plight of Syrian refugees for myself just before Christmas, and met families in Lebanon with heart-breaking stories including a four-year-old girl who’d been living on a park bench for three weeks.

“These children have been through an incredible amount in Syria and witnessed bombings and shootings. Rebuilding their lives will be tough, and we need to ensure the funding announced today reaches the most vulnerable, including unregistered refugees.”

As the harsh weather continues, a local clinic recently reported that it was treating about five to six children a day with pneumonia, and fevers with extremely high temperatures.

Patricia Mouamar, World Vision communications officer for Lebanon, said: “The worst of the snow has passed but temperatures often fall below freezing. We’ve distributed more than a thousand stoves which are a lifeline for families. Many have been burning rubbish and anything they could find to stay warm.”

World Vision workers continue to hand out stoves, hygiene supplies and food vouchers, and are helping children to experience some kind of normality with ‘child friendly spaces’ - safe areas of fun and recreation where children can recover from emotional scars.