Malnutrition Among Children in East Damascus Increases As Food Prices Rise

At least one severely malnourished child died in East Damascus on October 22, after a blockade on the region had increased food prices and led to a scarcity of medicine.

In this video, a severely malnourished child struggles to breath. In a second video, a doctor at the Al-Hakeem Primary Health Care Center says the hospital sees a number of cases of both severe and moderate malnutrition in East Damascus.

Two children died in East Damascus, one girl just over a month of age, local news outlets said, and another girl, who was over a year old.

The Al-Hakeem Primary Health Care center tracks the number of malnutrition cases in East Damascus and said the number of cases and the percentage of cases of moderate and severe malnutrition has increased since June.

Access to food and medicine is limited in East Damascus, which the Syrian government has blockaded for five years, local media outlets said. Credit: YouTube/Qasioun News Agency