Syrian civil war's impact on children's health 'devastating'

Large number of children are dying or at risk from chronic and preventable diseases due to the collapse of the public health, says report

The impact of Syrian civil war on kids' health is far more insidious than has been widely understood, a leading children's advocacy group has said.

The group, Save the Children, said large number of children are dying or at risk from chronic and preventable diseases due to the collapse of the public health system in Syria.

According to the New York Times, the report shows that at least 1.2 million children have fled to neighboring countries, nearly 4.3 million in Syria need humanitarian assistance and that more than 10,000 have died in the violence.

The report said that the conflict, which began in March 2011, has left a 'shattered health system resulting in brutal medical practices that have left millions of children suffering'.

The report revealed that 'several thousands of children' had died because of greatly reduced access to treatment for diseases including cancer, epilepsy, asthma, diabetes, hypertension and kidney failure.

It added that the basic lack of medical care, including routine vaccinations means "increasing numbers of children are suffering and dying from diseases that would previously either have been treated or prevented from taking hold in the first place, the paper added.