News outlets report on two recently released reports on how the Syrian conflict is affecting children and health care in the country. Save the Children published “A Devastating Toll” (.pdf), and UNICEF published “Under Siege.”

Agence France-Presse: Syria conflict affects 5.5 million children: U.N.
“The number of children affected by Syria’s war doubled in the past year to 5.5 million, the U.N. said Tuesday, a heartrending picture of an entire generation on the verge of being lost…” (3/10).

Al Jazeera America: Report: More than 4.3M Syrian children need humanitarian aid
“Syria’s civil war has left the country’s health system so severely crippled that some patients are ‘opting to be knocked out with metal bars for lack of anesthesia,’ according to a new report by international charity Save the Children…” (3/10).

BBC News: Syria crisis: Number of children in need doubles to 5.5 million
“The number of Syrian children in need has more than doubled in the past year to 5.5 million, the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) says. Up to a million are living under siege and in areas that the agency and other humanitarian organizations cannot access, according to a new report…” (3/11).

BBC News: Syria refugees ‘needs support from international community’
“As Syria’s civil war rages on, residents have poured out of the country into Lebanon and Jordan, creating a refugee crisis. United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees Antonio Guterres says that an estimated three million are refugees, six-and-half-million are displaced within the country and three million more are in need of humanitarian help…” (3/11).

Foreign Policy: UNICEF: Syria One of the Most Dangerous Places for Children
“UNICEF said Monday that Syria was now among the most dangerous places on Earth to be a child, pointing to high child casualty rates, brutalizing and traumatic violence, deteriorated access to education, and health concerns…” (Kerr, 3/11).

The Guardian: Syria: fears of a lost generation as U.N. and World Vision highlight cost of war
“The future of 5.5 million children living in Syria and neighboring countries hangs in the balance as violence, collapsing health and education services, severe psychological distress and impoverishment combine to scar a generation, a U.N. report has warned…” (Tran, 3/11).

VOA News: Syrian War Takes Devastating Toll on Children
“The United Nations Children’s Fund is calling attention to the affect that three years of conflict has had on Syria’s young people, saying the crisis is the ‘most damaging conflict for children in the region’s recent history’…” (Schlein, 3/11).