Report reveals horrifying cost of conflict to Syria, its neighbours and its children
Even if the war in Syria ended tomorrow, the economic cost would still be more than half a trillion dollars, according to World Vision and Europe’s largest independent economic consultancy, Frontier Economics.
This report, “Cost of Conflict for Children – Five Years of the Syria Crisis”, puts the cost of Syria’s five-year war at US$275 billion. It says Syria has been subjected to a process of “reverse development” that will take at least a decade to undo.
Under a best case scenario, where the war ended this year, the economic cost would still grow to between US$448 billion and US$689 billion - 140 times the amount currently requested by UN agencies and partners to meet humanitarian needs inside Syria.
If the war continued another four years, until 2020, the cost would soar to US$1.3 trillion. Read the full report to find out more about the cost of conflict in Syria.
March 15 marks five years of war in Syria.
Up to 470,000 people have been killed, including more than 11,000 children; 13.5 million people are in need of humanitarian assistance and protection in Syria, including 6 million children; 4.7 million people have fled to neighbouring countries including Turkey, Lebanon and Jordan; more than 800,000 people have sought asylum in Europe.
World Vision regional leader for the Middle East, Conny Lenneberg, said that while the economic costs were enormous, the losses experienced by Syria’s children were immeasurable. “Lost fathers, mothers, brothers, sisters, friends. Lost homes, toys, dreams. Lost education. Every day the conflict continues, it deepens the deprivation of Syria’s children today and into the future,” she said.
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