North-West Syria: Situation Report (29 July 2024) [EN/AR]

HIGHLIGHTS

• The use of the Bab Al-Hawa border crossing for UN aid delivery and personnel movement was
  extended for an additional six months until 13 January 2025.
• On 12 July, the Syria Cross-border Humanitarian Fund launched its first 2024 Standard Allocation,
  valued at $30.5 million, having received only $34 million in paid contributions.
• The Humanitarian Response Plan for Syria remains significantly underfunded at 21 per cent
  funded. As of 25 July, $871 million has been secured out of the $4.07 billion needed.
• Without increased funding, as many as 192 camps will be cut off from water and sanitation
  support by September 2024, affecting nearly 250,000 camp residents.
• If this funding trajectory continues, 50 per cent of all functional health facilities in north-west Syria
  will fully or partially cease operations by December 2024.

Camps in north-west Syria: water shortages, mounting trash and a fear of scabies

Nearly 200 camps at risk of losing WASH support due to underfunding

Temperatures in Syria have climbed as high as over 40 degrees this summer, with above-average temperatures foreseen from July to September, according to the World Meteorological Organization. In north-west Syria, the adverse impacts of heat are heavily felt in camps and informal settlements where 2 million people live. Nearly 80 per cent of the camp residents are women and children, many of whom live in overcrowded conditions without adequate ventilation and cooling, let alone privacy of space. According to the Education Cluster, over 80 temporary learning centers in camps have closed this summer due to shortages in water supply.

Today, as many as 660 camps (44 per cent of over 1,500 camps) across Idleb and northern Aleppo do not have water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) support, affecting over 907,000 people. Half of them are children, reported the WASH Cluster. Families are surviving off intermittent water support provided by local authorities or costly water supplies from private companies, which are not always regulated for drinking and safety. Camps that lack sanitation support, such as waste collection and desludging of septic tanks, are seeing piles of trash accruing over time.

More than halfway through 2024, the cross-border response continues to face serious funding gaps amid a scaling down of the operation. UN agencies and partners have significantly reduced human resources to cut costs, resulting in reduced humanitarian activities. This year, the UN and its partners are reaching some 1 million people in north-west Syria per month with aid and critical services – more than half of the 2.5 million people reached in 2023. As of 29 July, over 400 trucks with UN aid have crossed from Türkiye to north-west Syria. During the same period last year, over 3,700 trucks have crossed.

Without increased funding, at least 192 additional camps (111 in Idleb and 81 in northern Aleppo) will be deprived of WASH support by this September, affecting nearly 250,000 people. Many of these camps are already in precarious conditions. According to the Camp Coordination and Camp Management (CCCM) Cluster, over 40 per cent of camps are over five years old and urgently need rehabilitation of properties, roads and communal facilities. 372 camps are located in remote and volatile locations with limited humanitarian assistance coverage