The crisis in Syria is the largest humanitarian emergency of our time. Learn how you can help.

April 6, 2017

Highlights

UN releases 2017 Humanitarian Response Plan (HRP), requests $3.4 billion to address humanitarian needs in Syria.

Suspected chemical weapon attack kills approximately 100 in Idlib.

UN inter-agency convoy reaches four besieged towns in Idlib and Rif Damascus, delivers critical relief for 60,000 people.

Syrian Arab Republic Government (SARG), armed opposition groups (AOGs) agree to new reconciliation terms in Al Wa’er, prompting evacuation of opposition fighters and their families.

Key Developments

On April 5, Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs Thomas A. Shannon announced more than $566 million in humanitarian funding for Syria and neighboring countries, bringing total U.S. Government (USG) humanitarian assistance to more than $6.5 billion since the start of the Syria crisis. Under Secretary Shannon announced the funding at the Supporting the Future of Syria and the Region conference in Brussels. The announcement includes more than $431 million from State/PRM, $127 million from USAID/FFP, and $8 million from USAID/OFDA to support humanitarian efforts in Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, and Turkey, as well as humanitarian assistance inside Syria.

On March 13, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) released the 2017 Syria Humanitarian Response Plan (HRP), requesting $3.4 billion to reach approximately nine million people in Syria with direct emergency relief assistance and approximately 12.8 million people through multi-sector humanitarian service delivery. Overall, the HRP and complementary Humanitarian Needs Overview, released in December 2016, identified 13.5 million people in need of humanitarian assistance, including 6.3 million internally displaced persons (IDPs). The HRP reports that one of every three people in Syria is food insecure and four of every five people live in poverty. The conflict continues to displace an average of approximately 6,150 people per day.

Parties to the conflict, including the Syrian Arab Republic Government (SARG) and several armed opposition groups (AOGs), met in Geneva for the fifth round of UNmediated peace negotiations between March 24 and 31. The UN Secretary-General’s Special Envoy for Syria Staffan de Mistura facilitated the Geneva V conference, which included discussions on governance, constitution-making, elections, and counterterrorism, and resulted in limited progress.

INSECURITY AND POPULATION DISPLACEMENT

The Camp Coordination and Camp Management (CCCM) Cluster—the coordinating body for humanitarian CCCM activities, comprising UN agencies, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), and other stakeholders—recorded nearly 687,000 displacements, including approximately 44,000 new displacements, from conflict-affected areas in northern and southern Syria between February 1 and March 14. The figure includes nearly 672,000 people displaced from Aleppo, Dayr az Zawr, Al Hasakah, Hamah, Homs, Idlib, Lattakia, and Ar Raqqah governorates and nearly 15,000 people displaced from Damascus, Dar’a, and Rif Damascus governorates. The CCCM Cluster has noted no significant change in the rate of displacement between February and March.

Northern Syria

 Intensified airstrikes—allegedly led by the SARG and the Government of the Russian Federation (GoRF) and involving chemical weapons—struck opposition-held areas in southern Idlib’s Khan Shaykun sub-district on April 4, resulting in approximately 100 deaths and widespread injuries, according to USAID partners, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, and international media. A subsequent attack on April 4 struck a hospital in southern Idlib, where patients had relocated following an April 2 attack on another major hospital in the governorate, international media report. The attacks follow earlier accounts of the alleged use of chemical weapons in northern Hamah Governorate’s Kafr Zeita sub-district on March 30. In response to the attacks, the UN Security Council called an emergency meeting on April 5 to discuss the suspected chemical attack in northern Syria.

Clashes between SARG forces and the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS), as well as between the U.S.-backed Syria Democratic Forces (SDF) and ISIS, in Aleppo’s Menbij District are driving further displacement from and within northern Aleppo. Between February 27 and March 16, the fighting displaced approximately 60,000 people within Menbij and to other parts of Aleppo, as well as to Ar Raqqah and Al Hasakah, according to OCHA. A preliminary assessment conducted on March 3 found approximately 7,500 IDPs sheltering in open fields and alongside roadways; subsequent reports from humanitarian agencies suggest that an additional 25,000–30,000 people displaced from Menbij lack access to adequate shelter in areas of displacement. Humanitarian agencies are distributing relief items and providing affected households with health, nutrition, shelter, and water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) support, while monitoring the situation and responding to other emerging needs in the area. Additionally, a USAID/OFDA partner has provided more than 1,600 emergency shelter kits to affected populations in Menbij as well as in Ar Raqqah’s Ein Issa sub-district and Tel Abyad District.

From March 1 to April 3, the ongoing SDF offensive to retake the city of Ar Raqqah from ISIS displaced more than 21,600 people, including nearly 19,500 people displaced within Ar Raqqah Governorate and more than 2,100 people displaced to parts of Aleppo, Dayr az Zawr, and Idlib, according to USG partner the International Organization for Migration (IOM). As the offensive continues, population movement remains fluid, with 1,000 additional displacements from Ar Raqqah recorded on April 4 alone.

In March, SARG forces gained additional territory from ISIS in the Aleppo sub-district of Al Khafsa, including assuming control of Al Khafsa town and a key water pumping station, which supplies water to Aleppo’s Al Bab, Deir Hafer, and Menbij districts, as well as to the city of Aleppo. The water station was inoperable for nearly two months due to damage; however, following its transfer to SARG control, the station was reportedly repaired and operating at an unknown level of capacity as of March 15, according to local media.

Between February 3 and March 9, the UN registered more than 141,000 IDPs in newly accessible neighborhoods in the city of Aleppo; the areas are not yet safe for return due to heavy structural damages and the presence of explosive remnants of war (ERW) and landmines, OCHA reports. In February, relief agencies reported 16 deaths and several injuries resulting from ERW in Aleppo. While some IDPs have returned to newly accessible neighborhoods in the city, nearly 46,000 people remain displaced in western Aleppo city, while more than 5,000 IDPs remain at the Jibreen transitional shelter in the eastern outskirts of the city.

On February 8, shelling struck a Syrian Arab Red Crescent (SARC) distribution point in the city of Aleppo, killing four people, including one SARC staff member and two beneficiaries who had arrived at the site to collect humanitarian assistance. The shelling also resulted in several injuries.

Southern and Central Syria

Following several weeks of intensified airstrikes targeting the neighborhood of Al Wa’er in the city of Homs, SARG authorities and AOGs agreed to new reconciliation terms brokered by the GoRF on March 13, effectively ceding control of the city to the SARG. Pursuant to the terms agreement, approximately 1,400 people, including irreconcilable fighters and their families, had relocated from Al Wa’er to the northern Aleppo town of Jarablus on March 18. Al Wa’er—the last opposition-held neighborhood in the city—had been under siege since 2013, triggering shortages of medicine and other relief supplies. The UN last reached the neighborhood in September 2016.

Intensified fighting between SARG forces and AOGs in opposition-controlled areas of the Dar’a city, as well as among moderate and extremist opposition groups in southwestern parts of the governorate, had displaced up to 30,000 people as of March 22, according to USG partner the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). The fighting and general insecurity is impeding humanitarian access in Dar’a, making it difficult to triangulate displacement figures, the UN agency notes.

Clashes continue between ISIS-affiliated Jaysh Khaled Ibn Waleed (JKW) forces and AOGs in southwestern parts of Dar’a, with local media reporting high casualty figures and several executions in JKW-controlled territory. The fighting follows the extremist groups’ launch of an unexpected offensive in southwestern Dar’a in late February, during which it made significant territorial advances, including seizing control of the towns of Ain Thakar, Edqan, Hit, Jlein, Saham elGolan, Sehm Al Jolan Dam, and Tassil.

Armed groups launched a major assault on SARG positions near the city of Hamah on March 21, taking control of at least nine villages and towns and advancing within a few kilometers of the SARG-held city, international media report. The fighting has prompted at least 10,000 people to flee from the city in recent days, according to an international NGO.

HUMANITARIAN ACCESS

A UN interagency convoy, including USAID/FFP partner the UN World Food Program (WFP), delivered multi-sector assistance to meet the needs of approximately 60,000 people in the Rif Damascus towns of Madaya and Az Zabadani, as well as the Idlib towns of Al Fu’ah and Kafrayya on March 14. The UN last reached the four besieged towns in late November 2016. In addition to delivering general food rations, WFP provided households across the four towns with two bags of wheat flour and one ready-to-eat (RTE) food ration. WFP also delivered a three-month supply of nutritional supplements for the treatment of moderate acute malnutrition in 180 children across the four towns.

Intensified clashes between AOGs and SARG forces erupted in northeastern parts of Syria’s capital city of Damascus in mid-to-late March, hindering the delivery of humanitarian assistance to conflict-affected populations in the city and surrounding areas. As of March 24, an estimated 300,000 people in Rif Damascus’s Eastern Ghouta region, including in the besieged city of Douma and the besieged sub-district of Kafr Batna, remained cut off from humanitarian assistance, prompting the UN to call for a temporary suspension of hostilities to enable humanitarian access to affected areas, international media report. The UN last reached Kafr Batna and Douma in June and October 2016, respectively.

Since the implementation of a reconciliation deal in the Wadi Barada area of Rif Damascus in late January, the humanitarian situation has improved significantly, primarily due to the easing of SARG-imposed access restrictions, according to a USAID/OFDA partner. In February, the SARG opened two formal access points, facilitating the movement of civilians to and from Wadi Barada for the first time since November 2016. The easing of siege conditions has allowed commercial vehicles to deliver food, fuel, and household items, which had been largely unavailable in recent months. Nonetheless, prices for basic food commodities and household items remained much higher than in surrounding areas as of March 20, the partner reports. The easing of siege conditions in Wadi Barada has also enabled the delivery of critical medical supplies, the reopening of primary health care facilities, and the evacuation of patients requiring specialized treatment to Damascus, contributing to improved health conditions.

Pursuant to UN Security Council Resolution (UNSCR) 2332, the UN and its humanitarian partners continue to deliver cross-line and cross-border assistance to Syria from Iraq, Jordan, and Turkey. Between February 1 and 31, three UN humanitarian convoys delivered food assistance for approximately 64,000 people and relief commodities for more than 30,000 people via the Ramtha border crossing between Jordan and Syria; the figures represent a significant decrease from January, when the UN delivered assistance for more than 400,000 people. Insecurity in Dar’a prompted the UN to suspend humanitarian convoys traveling from Jordan to southern Syria on February 13, which likely contributed to the decrease in beneficiaries in February. As of March 12, the UN had resumed cross-border convoys via Ramtha, according to the Jordan-based Food Security Cluster.

With approximately $5 million in FY 2017 assistance, USAID/OFDA continues to support OCHA to ensure greater accountability, coherence, and transparency related to the Syria crisis response. USAID/OFDA funding also supports improved operational coordination and preparedness.

FOOD SECURITY AND NUTRITION

An estimated 9 million people across Syria are in need of emergency food assistance, agriculture support, and livelihoods interventions, according to the UN. The figure includes 7 million people—one in three Syrians—who are food insecure and an additional 2 million people at risk of food insecurity. By comparison, the 2016 HRP indicated 8.7 people in need of agriculture and food-related assistance.

Through implementing partners based in Al Hasakah’s city of Qamishli, WFP is supporting the emergency food assistance needs of people displaced in Menbij. As of March 20, WFP had distributed RTE rations to address the immediate food needs of approximately 35,000 people displaced across 37 villages in Menbij for five days. Additionally, WFP maintains a supply of approximately 7,500 RTE rations in Qamishli, which the UN agency plans to dispatch to IDPs sheltering in western areas of Ar Raqqah.

As of March 5, WFP had completed 200 airdrop rotations to the ISIS-besieged city of Dayr Az Zawr, where approximately 93,500 people are in urgent need of food assistance. Overall, WFP reports that the airdrop operations have provided a total of 3,800 metric tons of emergency food and other humanitarian relief supplies for approximately 90,000 people since the air operations began in April 2016.

Between March 23 and 29, USAID/OFDA partner the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) screened 66 children and 37 pregnant and lactating women for malnutrition at the UNICEF-supported clinic at the informal Rukban settlement, located along the Syria–Jordan border berm, identifying three children with moderate acute malnutrition and three malnourished pregnant or lactating women. In response, UNICEF provided ready-to-use supplementary food. UNICEF-led infant and young child feeding (IYCF) counseling at the Rukban clinic reached 12 pregnant and 52 lactating women from March 23 to 29, raising the total number of pregnant and lactating women reached with IYCF counseling at the clinic to nearly 290 since the activity began.

HEALTH

The USAID/OFDA-funded Early Warning Alert and Response Network (EWARN) reported 121 suspected measles cases in Damascus and Rif Damascus from January to February; nearly 75 percent of the reported cases originated in Kafr Batna. All cases met the clinical case definition for measles, and the SARG Ministry of Health confirmed at least 33 cases via diagnostic testing. Health officers anticipate limited capacity for additional diagnostic testing due to access restrictions in Eastern Ghouta. The new, suspected cases represent an increase from 2015 and 2016, during which EWARN reported only 50 suspected measles cases in Rif Damascus. USAID/OFDA partner the UNICEF is coordinating health response efforts in Eastern Ghouta through the planned cross-line delivery of measles vaccinations and Vitamin A supplements from Damascus.

The ongoing conflict, including attacks on health infrastructure and personnel, continues to diminish health care capacity throughout Syria. In 2016, parties to the conflict conducted at least 105 attacks on hospitals and the attacks resulted in at least 14 health care worker deaths, the UN reports. Additionally, the conflict has disrupted supply chains, contributing to reduced supplies of essential medicines and supplies, and impeded medical evacuations, particularly in areas under siege. The lack of basic utilities, such as electricity, sanitation services, and safe drinking water, has also heightened vulnerability to disease transmission in conflict-affected areas. As a result, the 2017 HRP estimates that 12.8 million people in Syria, including 4.5 million IDPs, are in critical need of health assistance, including access to primary health care services, essential medicines, immunizations, and trauma care, among other health-related needs. The figure marks a significant increase in the number of people requiring health assistance from 2016, estimated at 11.5 million. The HRP requests $459 million to meet the health-related needs of conflict-affected communities, including through the provision of life-saving health assistance, support for health sector coordination and information systems, and efforts to strengthen community resilience.

With FY 2016 assistance, USAID/OFDA continues to support several NGO partners to respond to the health needs of conflict-affected populations in Syria. USAID/OFDA-funded activities include primary health care services, training for Syrian medical workers, the provision of medical supplies, and support for polio vaccination campaigns. In addition, USAID/OFDA partner UNICEF is assisting populations sheltering at the Rukban and Hadalat settlements along the Syria–Jordan border berm. From March 23 to 29, UNICEF health consultations benefited nearly 80 children younger than five years of age; the most common cause for consultation was respiratory infection. Cumulatively, UNICEF has conducted nearly 580 health consultations, reaching more than 500 people in Rukban and approximately 70 people in Hadalat, since November 2016.

In response to the intensified airstrikes and alleged chemical weapons use in Idlib, UNICEF is mobilizing nine ambulances to transport patients to hospitals in northern Aleppo and Idlib and supporting medical treatment at four hospitals with the capacity to treat up to 22,500 cases per month. From April 4 to 6, several USAID/OFDA-supported health facilities responded to the alleged chemical weapon attacks by treating 165 severe cases, including 60 children, and 400 minor cases or consultations. UNICEF is also providing atropine, a nerve agent exposure medication, for 1,000 cases and additional emergency medical supplies sufficient to treat up to 1,500 additional severe cases. UNICEF has also distributed informational brochures to assist in identifying the chemical weapon used in the attack and is raising awareness among its field staff to increase response capacity to potential future chemical attacks.

WASH

Approximately 51 percent of Syria’s population lacks sustained access to the public water network, according to the UN. Additionally, an estimated 8.2 million people, including IDPs and those remaining in UN-declared besieged areas or in areas controlled by extremist groups, require urgent WASH assistance.

To increase water access for IDPs sheltering at the berm, UNICEF is providing an average of 12 and 25 liters of potable water per person per day in Rukban and Hadalat, respectively, and supporting the establishment of working water supply infrastructure and access points at both sites. A water supply station in Hadalat will likely be functional by mid-April, while a new borehole in Rubkan will likely be operational by late June, the UN organization reports.

With nearly $1.8 million in FY 2017 assistance, USAID/OFDA is also supporting increased efforts to address the needs of IDPs in Aleppo and Ar Raqqah. USAID/OFDA-funded activities include the distribution of hygiene kits and other relief commodities, as well as the restoration of water supply and sanitation infrastructure in conflict-affected areas.

REFUGEE ASSISTANCE

As of March 24, UNHCR had registered nearly 5 million Syrian refugees in neighboring countries, including Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, and Turkey, as well as parts of northern Africa. Turkey remains the largest host nation, with nearly 3 million Syrian refugees registered in the country as of mid-March.

In coordination with UNICEF, USG partner the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) conducted landmine awareness trainings for nearly 20 psychosocial support counselors in Damascus’s Husseiniyeh, Khan Eshieh, and Qabr Essit camps; each of the camps are located in areas presently under SARG control, but previously designated as hard-to-reach or otherwise directly impacted by the hostilities. UNRWA plans to conduct additional trainings in landmine awareness for students and teachers in the coming weeks. With USG support, UNRWA is also providing primary education for nearly 45,500 school-aged children attending more than 100 UNRWA-managed schools across Syria.

WFP continues to support the food-related needs of Syrian refugees in Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, and Lebanon through the distribution of electronic food vouchers. The USAID/FFP-funded e-voucher program enables vulnerable people to access local supermarkets, thereby helping to restore their dignity, and enables the purchase of local food supplies. To date, the program has issued more $1.7 billion in food vouchers.

The recent announcement of USG funding included approximately $397 million to continue support for the more than five million Syrian refugees as well as host communities in the region. USG funding is supporting refugees in both camp and non-camp settings to meet their basic needs, including through the provision of education, food, health, shelter, and WASH support. USG funding is also supporting refugee registration, information helplines, protection services, as well as livelihoods programming and vocational training, among other activities.

OTHER HUMANITARIAN ASSISTANCE

In mid-March, the UN released the 2017 HRP, requesting $3.4 billion to address the critical needs of conflict-affected people in Syria. The appeal represents an increase of approximately $300 million from the 2016 HRP, and seeks to provide agricultural support and emergency food assistance to 9 million people; emergency relief commodities and shelter support to 4.9 million and 740,000 people, respectively; health assistance for 12.8 million people; and protection services for 9.7 million people, among other interventions. As of April 6, international donors had contributed more than $501 million—approximately 15 percent of the requested total—toward the 2017 HRP, according to the UN’s Financial Tracking Service (FTS).

On March 23, the Government of Germany (GoG) pledged approximately $254 million to support humanitarian assistance and stabilization programs in Iraq and Syria. The announcement coincided with the meeting of the Global Coalition working to defeat ISIS, held in Washington, D.C., from March 22 to 23. The GoG’s plans to continue funding key efforts to facilitate the safe return of civilians and promote economic stability and security in Syria, including through demining programs, the restoration of safe drinking water and electrical systems, and the provision of education and livelihoods support. In FY 2016, the GoG provided $1.2 billion for humanitarian assistance and stabilization programs in Syria.

On March 6, the Government of Japan (GoJ) provided more than $15 million in funding to WFP to assist nearly six million conflict-affected people in Syria and the region. The contribution will support WFP’s food assistance and livelihoods programs in Syria, as well as in Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, and Turkey. Since the crisis began, the GoJ has provided more than $88 million to support WFP’s emergency response for Syria.

During the April 4 to 5 Supporting the Future of Syria and the Region conference in Brussels, international donors pledged $6 billion to support development, humanitarian, and resilience activities for the Syria crisis response. In addition to the USG, other top donors included the GoG, the European Commission, the Government of the United Kingdom, and the Government of Canada, which pledged approximately $1.4 billion, $1.4 billion, $626 million, and $274 million, respectively.

PUBLIC DONATION INFORMATION

The most effective way people can assist relief efforts is by making cash contributions to humanitarian organizations that are conducting relief operations. A list of humanitarian organizations that are accepting cash donations for disaster responses around the world can be found at www.usaid.gov/crisis/syria.

The USG encourages cash donations because they allow aid professionals to procure the exact items needed (often in the affected region); reduce the burden on scarce resources (such as transportation routes, staff time, and warehouse space); can be transferred very quickly and without transportation costs; support the economy of the disaster-stricken region; and ensure culturally, dietary, and environmentally appropriate assistance.