UN children agency or UNICEF called for increased support for parents forced to raise their babies and young children in conflict-affected areas.
‘Parents who interact with their babies can help shield them from the negative neurological effects of conflict. Yet, in times of conflict, parents are frequently overwhelmed,’ said UNICEF Executive Director Henrietta Fore.
‘Every parent should be able to cherish their baby’s first moments, but for the millions of families living through conflict, the reality is far bleaker’, she said.
She said violent conflict has severely limited access to essential services such as food, safe water, sanitation, secure and healthy environment for parents and their babies.
UNICEF Executive Director explained that when young children experience prolonged or repeated bad and traumatic events; the brain’s stress management system is activated without relief, causing ‘toxic stresses’.
Fore added that ultimately families need peace as 29 million babies in the world were born into conflict in 2018.
UNICEF said armed violence in Afghanistan, Somalia, South Sudan, Syria and Yemen affected babies forcing them to unsafe and highly stressful environments.