Syria Humanitarian Fund: First Standard Allocation 2024

Section 1: Strategic Statement

Now in its 14 th year of the crisis, Syria is grappling with a catastrophe of unprecedented magnitude, with new emergencies adding to the existing ones and taking a heavy toll on the people living in the country. Protracted displacement, economic decline, hyperinflation/continued deterioration of the Syrian pound, escalation of hostilities and the aftermath of the earthquakes that struck south-eastern Türkiye and northern Syria in February 2023 are some of the biggest challenges Syrians currently face. 1 The convergence of drivers has deepened the complexity of the crisis, resulting in a record-high number of vulnerable people whose lives and livelihoods are at immediate risk. In 2024, at least 12.9 million people are food insecure across the country and a total of 16.7 million people are estimated to need humanitarian assistance. US$ 4.07 billion is required to meet these critical needs. However, with humanitarian needs at their highest since the crisis began, humanitarian funding has fallen to unprecedentedly low levels.

Through this $30 million allocation, the Syria Humanitarian Fund (SHF) aims to support targeted integrated life-saving, lifesustaining and resilience-based assistance to the most vulnerable people living in underserved, socio-economically depressed areas with the highest inter-sector severity of needs. The allocation encompasses multi-sector and integrated programming to optimize impact and deliver integrated assistance to the targeted population. The allocation is designed to complement food security, health, water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) and nutrition interventions under the 2024 Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF) Underfunded Window allocation.

In line with the Humanitarian Coordinator’s (HC) vision, this allocation will promote cash and voucher assistance (CVA), aiming to channel at least 15 per cent in support of cash-based programming, including multi-purpose cash or sector-specific cash assistance. The allocation will contribute to improving humanitarian access through targeting 10 per cent of the population living in sub-districts with very high and high access severity. The SHF will continue to advance localization by reserving 25 per cent of the allocation amount to national/local NGOs. The allocation promotes accountability to affected people, including protection from sexual exploitation and abuse (SEA), and emphasizes the centrality of protection, including the response to gender-based violence (GBV).