Action Against Hunger and The New Humanitarian: Syria

With over 40 years of experience in conflict zones, natural disasters and response to food crises, Action Against Hunger is an international organization specializing in hunger and its underlying causes.

From their March 2021 newsletter about Syria:

As the world marks the 10th anniversary of Syria’s brutal civil war, 80% of the population has fallen below the poverty line, and millions are unable to access adequate food, shelter, water and basic health services.

The conflict has taken a tremendous human toll and forced families to make impossible choices.

As skyrocketing food prices and widespread fuel shortages deepen the crisis, more and more families are turning to coping strategies like removing children from school so they can work, selling assets and livestock to cover immediate needs, and purchasing food on credit – endangering livelihoods and limiting options for the future.

Child marriage, another consequence of economic and food insecurity, has increased by 25% in some parts of the country.

Action Against Hunger has been present in Syria since 2008.

Last year, our programs benefited nearly two and a half million people.

A woman surveys her vegetable plot, grown from seeds provided by Action Against Hunger. Photo: Action Against Hunger, Syria

Here are some of the ways we’re working to respond to immediate needs and support long-term solutions for communities affected by the violent conflict.

ENSURING ACCESS TO SAFE DRINKING WATER

“We couldn’t believe we were finally getting water after seven hard years without,” says Amina, whose village is finally connected to the water network.

In addition to providing emergency assistance by trucking in water where it’s needed, Action Against Hunger is working to repair and rehabilitate essential water infrastructure including pipelines, irrigation systems and pumping stations to ensure a safe water supply in communities like Amina’s.

GROWING HOPE AND LONG-TERM RESILIENCE AGAINST FOOD SHOCKS

“I was able to save money this year not having to buy these vegetables from the market,” says Om Ibrahim, showing the eggplants and zucchinis she has cultivated.

In response to widespread food insecurity resulting from Syria’s plummeting currency and rising inflation, Action Against Hunger is distributing seeds and fertilizers so families can grow vegetables at home, helping ensure adequate nutrition and reduce the financial burden of buying food on the market, where prices have risen by over 250%.

HELPING SURVIVORS HEAL FROM TRAUMA

“About two years ago, I witnessed a horrific explosion near my home,” says Mariam, a frontline healthcare worker. “I did not know where to seek psychological aid, despite my urgent need, as I suffered from frequent PTSD episodes.”

A decade of war has taken a severe toll on the mental health of the Syrian population.

In response, Action Against Hunger is providing Psychological First Aid Training to female health providers like Mariam.

The training has allowed her to speak out about her own struggle and support other survivors of traumatic events.

From Action Against Hunger website:

After 10 Years of Conflict,
60% of Syria’s Population
Struggles to Feed Themselves

10 Years Conflict Syria – Action Against Hunger Canada

Photo by Action Against Hunger, Syria.

March 2021

https://actionagainsthunger.ca/10-years-conflict-syria/

As Syria marks its tenth year of conflict, 13.4 million people – 75% of the country’s population – are in need of urgent humanitarian assistance, a 20% increase from 2020.

The cost of the basic food basket has increased by 250% in the last year and is beyond the reach of many families.

Action Against Hunger is one of the few international organizations that has been able to operate in Syria since the beginning of the conflict.

The organization calls for action to break the vicious cycle of mass hunger caused by the ongoing violence. . . read more. . .

After 10 years of conflict and hunger, here are the key facts:

13.4 million people are in need of humanitarian aid – twice as many as in 2011.
9.3 million people are food insecure, meaning there is no available food or no sustained access over time to healthy food. 2.2 million more people are at imminent risk of becoming food insecure.
The cost of a basic food basket, which includes commodities such as rice, bread, wheat, lentils, sugar and vegetable oil, has increased by 250%.
6.1 million people are internally displaced and five million refugees have fled the country. More than 90% of refugees are in neighboring countries – Turkey, Lebanon, Jordan, Iraq.

Visit the Action Against Hunger website
to learn more about the evolving situation in Syria.

Thank You

Syria: A Decade of Flight

https://www.thenewhumanitarian.org/interactive/stories/2021/a-decade-of-war-in-syria/

Over the past 10 years, at least 13 million Syrians have been forced to flee their homes by fear and violence, the ferocity and duration of which few predicted when protests against President Bashar al-Assad erupted in March 2011.

They have run from imprisonment and forced conscription, bombs and ground fighting, chemical attacks and sieges. They have left behind homes, jobs, and loved ones, often risking death in doing so.

Despite promises by the international community to support them, most of the 6.6 million Syrians registered as refugees remain in neighbouring countries like Turkey, Lebanon, and Jordan.

Another 6.7 million Syrians are internally displaced, living in camps or sheltering wherever they can afford it inside the country.

For the vast majority, with borders mostly closed, leaving the country is no longer an option.

Since 2011, only around 201,000 Syrians have been relocated through the UN’s resettlement programme*, which enables so-called “third countries” to offer permanent residence to certain refugees, often those with exceptional needs.

Numbers peaked in 2016, with Canada, the United States, and the UK the top destination countries.

Soon after, however, they dropped off as countries began putting up literal and metaphorical fences to keep Syrians – as well as migrants and refugees from other countries – out.

There have been some hopeful stories over the past 10 years, with individuals banding together to sponsor Syrian families in faraway countries, offering them financial and emotional support.

Germany took in tens of thousands of Syrians through its “humanitarian admissions” programme until 2015, and other states may yet offer a path to permanent citizenship for refugees they host.

Some Syrians have managed to integrate into new communities, going to school, working, and learning new languages. But many others have little freedom of movement, restricted rights to work, and fear being thrown out at any moment.

In recent years, the international community has tired of funding aid to refugees, while refugee poverty levels are rising and the hospitality of neighbouring countries is wearing thin.

Consequently, pressure has been growing on those who have not been resettled to go back to Syria.

Some have begun to come home, but Syria’s war is not fully over and the economy has also collapsed. For the vast majority, return remains a risky and unaffordable option.

Here’s a look – in maps, pictures, coverage (scroll down the post to see the map and then swipe up on the map to see the photos and info)