Attachments
HIGHLIGHTS
- Over the past thirteen years, the ongoing crisis in the Syrian Arab Republic has significantly impacted the lives of children and their families, with 16.7 million people requiring humanitarian assistance, including 7.5 million children and 7.24 million internally displaced persons.
- Since 24 September 2024, an influx of more than 473,000 Syrians3 (58 per cent of them children) displaced from Lebanon, alongside Lebanese refugees, has heightened humanitarian needs across the country, worsening the existing crisis.
- Ongoing conflict, economic decline, infrastructure damage, limited humanitarian access and climate shocks have deepened the needs of already vulnerable communities.
- UNICEF requires $488.3 million to support 7 million people, including 4.3 million children, with a holistic humanitarian response that combines early recovery and resilience efforts to address immediate needs and achieve lasting results for children. UNICEF will implement gender-responsive and disability-inclusive programmes, promote social inclusion, address vulnerabilities within communities, reinforce accountability to affected populations and work to protect populations from sexual exploitation and abuse.
KEY PLANNED TARGETS
1.7 million children and women accessing primary health care
1.5 million primary caregivers receiving infant and young child feeding counselling
2.6 million children supported with educational services and supplies in formal settings
3.9 million people accessing a sufficient quantity and quality of water
HUMANITARIAN SITUATION AND NEEDS
The complex emergency in the Syrian Arab Republic has had its worst impact on children. The prolonged conflict, coupled with public health emergencies, economic and climate-related shocks and widespread protracted displacements, has rendered 16.7 million people in need of humanitarian assistance, including 7.5 million children.
The conflict escalation in Lebanon has led to a humanitarian crisis in neighbouring countries, particularly the Syrian Arab Republic. More than 473,000 Syrians displaced from Lebanon, along with Lebanese refugees, have entered the country since 24 September 2024. This influx of people, 58 per cent of them children, puts further pressure on the already overstretched resources and services in the Syrian Arab Republic. Affected people require integrated lifesaving interventions, early recovery efforts and protection measures across the country, including in the northwest and the northeast.
The 2023 earthquakes aggravated people's longstanding vulnerabilities. Despite a significant humanitarian response, access to services, adequate infrastructure and economic inclusion are still challenging. Some 7.2 million people are internally displaced, with 2 million of them living in mostly overcrowded camps and 5.2 million living outside of camps. Among those people who are internally displaced, 3.4 million16 are in the northwest.
Eighty-five percent of households struggle to make ends meet, increasing their reliance on aid and such negative coping mechanisms as child labour and suboptimal diets. Almost 40 per cent of hospitals and health facilities are either non-functional or only partially functional,18 while climate-induced shocks and power supply disruptions have intensified water scarcity and food insecurity. Nearly 13.6 million people require access to water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) services; and 5.7 million people, including 3.7 million children, require nutritional assistance.
Despite a notable reduction in the number of verified grave violations against children, from 2,483 in 2022 to 1,574 in 2023,20 the harsh reality is that 6.4 million children are in urgent need of protection services. In the northeast, children and women face arbitrary arrest, extensive violence and forced relocation. Across the country, insecurity and economic hardship continue to contribute to human rights violations, fear and psychological distress, leading to gender-based violence, child marriage and the risk of sexual exploitation and abuse. Additionally, there is a significant threat from unexploded ordnance contamination.
With destruction or damage to 3,700 schools, 7.2 million children and education personnel require continuity of critical and sustained education services, including 3.3 million girls affected by poverty. More than 2.45 million children are out of school, and more than 1 million children, particularly those with disabilities, are at risk of dropping out of school.