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Syria emergency

EMERGENCY APPEAL

Syria emergency

After more than 12 years of crisis, life is becoming harder for Syrians inside and outside their country.

As the crisis continues, hope is fading. With the devastating impact of the earthquakes affecting Türkiye and northern Syria and increasing poverty, every day is an emergency for Syrians forced to flee.

UNHCR works hard to help, leading a coordinated response across the region. Together with partners, aid organizations and host governments, we offer a lifeline to those in need.
UNHCR staff speak with Osana, 76, who is staying at a mosque with her daughter and granddaughter.

I have been coming to Syria regularly for almost 20 years, but never have I seen such levels of deprivation and desperation — everywhere I have been. It is unconscionable that so many people have been left with so little for so long. They need and deserve much more support.

UN High Commissioner for Refugees, Filippo Grandi

What is happening in Syria and in neighbouring countries? 

After more than 12 years of crisis in Syria, humanitarian needs are at their highest levels ever. Little progress has been made to reach a political solution to this crisis, with millions of Syrian refugees forcibly displaced in neighbouring countries and around 6.8 million internally displaced in the country left with few options, struggling under immense and growing challenges.  

Despite the staggering needs inside Syria and among refugees and their host communities in neighbouring countries, the crisis has sadly slipped into the shadows. Even though this is still considered to be the world’s largest displacement crisis, the situation has largely dropped out of the news agenda and funding levels do not match the growing needs. 

Inside Syria, even before the deadly earthquake more than 15 million people – over two-thirds of the population – required humanitarian assistance. The earthquake exacerbated the perilous situation for millions of vulnerable Syrians, creating a crisis within a crisis. 

Neighbouring countries (mainly Türkiye, Lebanon, Jordan, Iraq and Egypt) have generously hosted Syrian refugees for more than a decade. These host countries need the support of the international community to continue providing safety and protection to Syrian refugees while they navigate their own economic challenges.

What is UNHCR doing to help? 

We provide life-saving humanitarian aid for Syrian refugees, helping the most vulnerable with cash for medicine and other basic necessities, stoves and fuel for heating, insulation for tents, thermal blankets and winter clothing. We also help refugees with access to clean water and sanitation. For those who have been displaced but remain in Syria, we provide shelter kits and household items as well as protection services and psychosocial support. 

To ensure a coordinated response in the main refugee-hosting countries, UNHCR co-leads, with UNDP, the Regional Refugee and Resilience Plan (3RP), coordinating the work of more than 270 partners in support of national efforts in Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon and Türkiye.

Under the plan, UNHCR and partners work to support Syrian refugees in many ways, including enabling access to education, providing cash assistance to afford basics like food and medicine, increasing access to primary health care and hospital treatment and livelihoods support. In addition, we help to address the most common protection risks, such as gender-based violence. Much of the funds will be used to strengthen national and local systems and their ability to deliver services to host communities and refugees who live side-by-side.

To find out more about our work in Syria, please visit the UNHCR Syria website
Help

Are you a refugee or asylum-seeker? Find information about your rights and available services on our HELP site.

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Data

Are you looking for data on displacement in Syria? Visit the UNHCR data portal for the latest data and statistics on refugees and other displaced persons.

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Operational updates

For information on UNHCR's operational response, budgets and funding, please visit the Syria situation page on Global Focus.

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