WHO demands access to Syria's east Ghouta to bring medical aid

The health situation is deteriorating in Syria's eastern Ghouta region near Damascus, where 300,000 people are besieged and none of the three hospitals is functioning, the World Health Organization said on Monday in a call for access to deliver aid.

"Time is running out for the people of East Ghouta. As health needs increase, available resources are being depleted day by day. Our main goal now is to provide access to lifesaving care for thousands of vulnerable men, women and children immediately," Elizabeth Hoff, WHO Representative in Syria, said in a statement.

The number of children suffering from trauma injuries is "alarmingly high" in eastern Ghouta - an opposition stronghold - the WHO said. Thirty percent of all patients suffering war-related injuries children under 15 years of age, the WHO said.