The Syrian crisis is now in its 10th year and it continues to affect millions of people negatively. Turkey is the country hosting the highest number of refugees and asylum seekers in the world with a population of approximately 4 million Syrians under TP. 13.7% of this population (501.349) consists of children aged between 0-4 years (UNHCR, 2021).
Children are one of the most vulnerable groups in times of crisis and conflict. Especially, insufficient income, difficulty in accessing healthy food, crowded household population or separation of the child from a caregiver for some reason cause an increase in the prevalence of malnutrition in children.
According to 2020 Global Nutrition Report; 149 million children under the age of 5 are stunted (21.9%), 49.5 million are underweight (7.3%) and 40.1 million are overweight (5.9%). It is observed that malnutrition forms such as stunting, underweight and overweight are associated with household income, area of residence, and level of education. While the number of stunted and underweight children is higher in households with low- or middle-income, overweight children are more common in households with high-income. The prevalence of stunted children in low-income households is 43.6%, whereas it is 18.6% in high-income households (Development Initiatives, 2020). Stunting and underweight are more common in children living in rural areas and raised in households with low education levels. In contrast, overweight is more common in children living in urban areas and raised in households with higher levels of education (Development Initiatives, 2020).
On the other side, 1% of the world’s population, in other words, 79.5 million people, is displaced. 40% of this 79.5 million people are children. The numbers show that forcibly displaced people have doubled since 2010. 80% of the displaced people face the risk of food insecurity and malnutrition (UNHCR, 2019). Asylum seekers may not have access to food that will support their development in terms macro- (protein, carbohydrate, and fat) and micro- (vitamin and minerals) nutrients. Inadequate hygiene conditions in terms of production, storage, and consumption of the foods reached cause food poisoning or diseases such as intestinal worms and affect children’s development negatively. Especially, resistant infections increase the prevalence of stunting and wasting.
According to WFP (2020), in 55 countries and regions, 135 million people surveyed in total face food insecurity and 17 million children under the age of 5 suffer from acute malnutrition and 75 million children suffer from chronic malnutrition (FSIN and Global Network Against Food Crises, 2020).
According to a study conducted by WFP (2020) in 2019, Syrians in Turkey under TP status face food insecurity at 23% with an increase of 5% compared to 2018 (FSIN ve Global Network Against Food Crises, 2020)
According to nutritional studies conducted in Syria in 2018, acute malnutrition affects 91.800 children, which is within acceptable limits. It is estimated that 865.300 children have micronutrient (vitamin and minerals) deficiencies. Regarding chronic malnutrition, it is still a worrying problem as it was before the Syria crisis in 2011. In the post-crisis term, 30% of the children between 0-59 months are suffering from chronic malnutrition (FSIN and Global Network Against Food Crises, 2020).
Likewise, studies about infant nutrition conducted in Syria also reveal worrying results. Only 24% of infants under 6 months are exclusively breastfed. Moreover, in the northwest area of Syria, it is estimated that this rate decreases to 10% (WFP, 2020) Inadequate nutrition of infants from the birth in mother’s womb until the end of 2 years and most importantly not exclusively breastfeeding in the first 6 months cause chronic malnutrition in children. Considering these rates, it is predictable that chronic malnutrition reaches alarming levels among Syrian children.
In the light of these data, it is revealed that various forms of malnutrition develop in asylum seeker children who are at risk of food insecurity. Therefore, it becomes important to evaluate the prevalence of malnutrition in Syrian children under TP status in Turkey and develop strategies to decrease the risk of malnutrition.
