Don't forget Syria: Children's advocate

As the world's focus remains enveloped on the ever-spreading coronavirus, children's advocate group Save the Children has asked people not to overlook the war in Syria which has now been fought for nine years.

It says the humanitarian situation remains on a "knife's edge" following daily and nightly attacks in recent months that have forced 970,000 people to flee their homes, including half a million children.

Save the Children Australia CEO Paul Ronalds said that while the world faces growing threats like coronavirus, it cannot overlook the suffering in Syria.

"Every single child in Syria under nine years of age has known only of a life war. They've had their childhoods ripped away," Mr Ronalds said in a statement.

"While it might not be in the news headlines every day, the humanitarian situation in Syria is catastrophic."