About 100,000 children in Lebanon were directly affected in the devastating Beirut explosion of a month ago, UNICEF Representative in Lebanon, Yukie Mokuo, told Sputnik Friday
MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 04th September, 2020) About 100,000 children in Lebanon were directly affected in the devastating Beirut explosion of a month ago, UNICEF Representative in Lebanon, Yukie Mokuo, told Sputnik Friday.
"We know that about 300,000 people were affected by the actual damage in their houses, from this we know that one-third of them are children, so 100,000 children's houses were damaged or destroyed. We know that about 1,000 children were injured directly. We know about 4-5 children who actually lost their lives," Mokuo told Sputnik in Beirut.
Mokuo went on to detail the psychological impact that the children have suffered as a result of the blast and subsequent hardships. She said she knows of children who have had trouble sleeping since the blast, others have become increasingly quiet or aggressive.
"The psychological impact is really unimaginable and I think we need to act now so that these scars and wounds of children are healed as quickly as possible," Mokuo went on to say.
According to UNICEF's own estimates, 183 educational facilities have been directly impacted by the August 4 blast. This will have an effect on the education of up to 77,000 children in the commencing school year. Another 7,500 school staff have lost their places of employment, the UN body found.
