Syria Humanitarian Crisis

• In 2024, 16.7 million people will need humanitarian assistance across Syria, up from 15.3 million in 2023. Of the 16.7 million people in need, 5.5 million are displaced.
• In Syria, 8.8 million people lived in areas most affected by the earthquake. Overall, 170 sub-districts in 43 districts in 10 of Syria’s governorates were impacted by the earthquake.
• According to the World Bank’s Global Rapid Post-Disaster Damage Estimation Report for Syria, direct damages from the earthquakes are estimated at $5.1 billion.
• 12.1 million people are food insecure. Acute malnutrition among children is growing.
• The World Bank estimates more than 50% of Syrians live in extreme poverty while 90% of Syrians are below the poverty line. Before the conflict, extreme poverty in Syria was virtually non-existent.
• According to a report from the Syrian Network for Human Rights (SNHR), 150 civilians were killed in Syria between January and February 2024, including 14 individuals who died due to torture.
• The UN says that between March 2011 and March 2021, more than 350,000 people were killed in the Syrian conflict. However, the number of people killed is believed to be higher. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights documented more than 494,000 fatalities during this same period.

The winter season in northwest Syria brings the risk of extreme weather, including cold temperatures, snowstorms, rain and heavy wind. Approximately 1.99 million IDPs live in sites that often lack sufficient shelter, infrastructure and basic services.

In preparation to respond to these challenges, the Inter-Cluster Coordination Group produced an updated Winterization and Flood Preparedness Response Plan 2023-2024, which outlines primary needs and options for minimizing the impact of flooding. CDP’s Ice, Snow and Extreme Cold Issue Insight provides information about this hazard and recommendations for funders.

The 7.8 magnitude earthquake that occurred in Turkey on Feb. 6, 2023, resulted in devastating and deadly outcomes in Syria and worsened the humanitarian situation in the country’s northwest.

The earthquake, a natural hazard, is devastating on its own. However, in the broader context of the Syrian CHE, the earthquake is a massive catastrophe because it exacerbated underlying vulnerabilities and complicated disaster recovery. For more information on this disaster, see CDP’s 2023 Turkey-Syria Earthquake disaster profile.

Source: The Guardian

Following the Feb. 6 earthquake, a dam collapsed in northwestern Syria, causing the overflow of the Orontes River. The flood led to the displacements of people from the village of Al-Tlul in Idlib governorate.

Approximately 7,000 people were evacuated, and 1,000 houses flooded across the nearby villages of Hardana, Delbiya, Jakara and Hamziyeh. The flood was an example of an indirect and cascading disaster impact that humanitarians must account for while trying to minimize risk as they provide assistance and begin earthquake recovery.

The long-running war has severely damaged and neglected infrastructure, but the water situation is exacerbated by the impacts of climate change and other weather events. In 2023, an estimated 52% of Syrians rely on often unsafe alternatives to piped water.

According to the IFRC situation report, “This deterioration in water resources and their scarcity, which are exacerbated by climate crises, have generated tensions in the local community regarding access to water points, agricultural lands, and pastures, especially since these communities rely primarily on agriculture as a source of income and life.”

Socio-economic conditions have been deteriorating rapidly in Syria, with the depreciation of the local currency and soaring inflation that worsens food insecurity and pushes people into poverty. According to the World Bank, between 2010 and 2020, Syria’s GDP shrunk by more than half.

Syria’s economy arguably hit its lowest point since the start of its civil war in 2023 despite its return to the Arab League in May 2023. The currency collapse in neighboring Lebanon drove devaluation and higher prices in Syria. The country was also affected by the COVID-19 downturn, Western sanction, Russia’s war in Ukraine, which increased prices and a slowdown in shipments of oil from Iran.

The country’s debilitating economic crisis severely affects Syrian families. According to a local economist, quoted by UNOCHA in an update published on Jan. 3, 2024, “The decline in income has led to the disappearance of much of the wealthy class into the middle class, most of the middle class into the poor class, and most of the poor class into the destitute class, a class that did not exist before 2010 except in a small percentage.”

The inflation and currency woes were exacerbated by the February 2023 earthquakes, which damaged roads, supermarkets and bakeries. In their reporting on the hunger and economic situation in Syria, The New Humanitarian said on June 6, 2023, “Most basic goods are imported from Türkiye, and inflation in the lira (plus higher prices because of the long-lasting impacts of the war in Ukraine) has hurt everyone who depends on a fixed income, as monthly food aid and wages now buy far less than they used to. By one estimate, prices have shot up 66% across the whole of Idlib province over the past year.”

There are an estimated 5.5 million IDPs in Syria, with 2.7 million in northwest Syria. In December 2023, around 340 IDP movements were tracked across Syria, approximately 96% less than in November 2023. Most IDP movements were concentrated in northwest Syria.

The Feb. 6, 2023 earthquakes and aftershocks have caused ongoing displacement. In northwest Syria, more than 57,000 displacements were recorded between Feb. 6 and Feb. 13 after the earthquakes. The earthquake affected people already displaced in addition to causing new displacements, potentially causing loss of livelihood, extreme poverty and damaged social support structure.

More than 13 years of ongoing hostilities have led millions of Syrians to flee the country in search of safety and basic needs. As of Feb. 29, 2024, 5,050,437 Syrian refugees were formally registered in neighboring countries. Just over 62% of these refugees were in Turkey. In December 2023, around 300 spontaneous IDP return movements were recorded, a 89% decrease from November 2023. The returns refer to IDP spontaneous returns and do not necessarily follow the global definitions of “Returnees” or durable solutions for IDPs.

It is important to note that Syria is not a party to the 1951 Convention and has not enacted refugee or asylum-specific legislation. In 2023, Syria had 16,880 registered refugees and asylum seekers.

According to Syria’s 2024 Humanitarian Needs Overview, at least 12.9 million people across Syria need food assistance. WFP reported in January 2024 that almost 3.1 million people are severely food insecure and average food prices more than doubled compared to January 2023.

Near the 100-day mark since the earthquakes, Save the Children said the disaster threatened to push at least another 665,000 Syrians into hunger, with doctors and aid agencies warning that levels of child stunting and maternal malnutrition are reaching levels never seen before.

Maintaining sufficient funding to address food insecurity in the country has been an ongoing challenge. On June 13, 2023, WFP said it would be forced to end food assistance to 2.5 million Syrians in July if donors did not provide at least $180 million to fund programs through 2023.

On Dec. 4, 2023, WFP announced it would end its main assistance program in Syria in January 2024 after having served for over a decade. Syria Direct reported on WFP ending its food assistance program, which served more than 3.2 million Syrians.

In addition to the earthquake and funding shortfalls, hostilities and air strikes in the northeast region of Syria since October 2023 have left more than a million people without reliable access to water. Syria is a water-scarce country and disruptions to water supply significantly impact farmers and food production.

A deadly cholera outbreak has been spreading in Syria where a shortage of clean water, dense living conditions and few healthcare facilities provide the opportunity for the disease to thrive.

Since the cholera outbreak was first declared in Syria on Sept. 10, 2022, more than 189,000 suspected cases have been reported across 14 governorates with 105 associated deaths. More than 73% of all reported cases are concentrated in the Idleb and Aleppo governorates.

According to WHO and humanitarian partners, “The devastating earthquake had a significant impact on the cholera response operations. The earthquake affected access to services, reduced partner capacity, diverted already limited funds available, and also affected negatively the mental health of the workforce.”

The cholera outbreak makes more apparent and more urgent the need to repair damaged water networks, improve communities’ access to safe drinking water and provide safer sanitation options. The earthquake damaged some of the remaining functioning water sources. Repairs to newly damaged sources and networks will be challenging but critical to reduce the risk of an increase in waterborne diseases after the disaster.

Since the beginning of the conflict, at least 400 medical facilities were targeted and 949 health care providers were killed, according to Physicians for Human Rights. A research snapshot produced by ELRHA and released in August 2023 demonstrates the long-lasting, cumulative impacts that result from attacks on Syria’s health system. “These are found at every level of the health system including the health workforce, and health service utilisation by communities.”

In addition to physical health impacts, mental health impacts persist. Millions of people have endured years of violence and displacement, which are serious traumatic events. In a story published in January 2024, Médecins Sans Frontières described the symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder they witnessed in one camp in northeast Syria.