CNN cannot independently verify the health ministry’s death toll. But UNICEF spokesperson James Elder said on Tuesday the organization’s estimates had closely aligned with the ministry’s in the past, which gave him confidence in the current figures. He told CNN’s Julia Chatterley: “Our numbers were within a couple of percent of that, almost identical. We don’t have that concern based on past history.”

“At UNICEF we are very, very precise with our numbers. We have the reputation, not just because we are on the frontlines and we deliver, but we have evidence,” he said.