Syria’s villagers hit by drought

According to the United Nations, at least 60 per cent of Syria’s land mass and 1.3 million people have been affected in some way by the lack of rain.

At least 800,000 people have lost their livelihoods by drought.

The droughts have also helped infectious diseases to spread freely as people turn to unsafe sources of water.

School dropout rates in the rural areas have increased as people abandon their homes.

Experts say the droughts are caused by a combination of climate change, manmade desertification and a lack of irrigation – some of which is blamed on official mismanagement.

Al Jazeera’s Hoda Abdel Hamid reports from eastern Syria.