Syrian Arab Republic

ATMEH, Syria – The main road in Atmeh, a town in northwest Syria near the border with Türkiye, cuts through a busy market. It’s bustling here now, full of traders doing their best to make ends meet as they recover from the catastrophic earthquakes and aftershocks that rocked the region in early February 2023. We continue past the marketplace along…

KAHRAMANMARAŞ, Türkiye – “She must have sensed it,” Zeynep says, remembering the night before the earthquake. She says her daughter Elanur, 5, usually loves sleeping in her own bed. “She never had problems sleeping like some other kids do.”   But on this particular night Elanur decided to make up a bed on the floor. Zeynep will forever be thankful…

While the scale of catastrophe is still emerging, the impact of the earthquakes that struck Syria and Türkiye on 6 February is clear.  Tens of thousands of people died following the initial earthquakes and aftershocks, with hundreds of thousands more left facing unimaginable uncertainty and hardship. Families with children are sleeping in the…, Providing safe drinking water, children filling up water cans with clean water On 10 February 2023, children and families fill jerrycans with clean water at a distribution point in Almyassar neighbourhood, in Aleppo, Syria. The destruction of homes and vital infrastructure disrupts families’ access to safe drinking water, toilets and other sanitation facilities. Such…, Supporting health and nutrition services , Health worker measures the upper arm circumference. On 10 February 2023, four-year-old Hamzeh is screened for malnutrition by a UNICEF-supported mobile health team in Alsalheen neighbourhood, Aleppo, Syria. Numerous hospitals and medical facilities have been damaged or destroyed by the quakes. With the disruption in access to essential health…, Shipping essential supplies , Offloading of emergency supplies from an aircraft On 14 February 2023, emergency supplies shipped from UNICEF's Global Supply and Logistics Hub in Copenhagen, Denmark, arrive in Damascus, Syria, to be deployed as part of UNICEF’s response to the earthquakes. Hundreds of thousands of children and families have been left facing desperate conditions…, Providing psychosocial support , A girl with a red winter jacket stands in line with her father. A girl holds her father's hand outside a temporary shelter, days following the earthquake, in Kahramanmaraş, Türkiye. The earthquakes have upended the lives of millions of children across Syria and Türkiye – many of whom have lost their families, friends, homes and schools. Children…, Helping children continue their education , Children sitting on plastic chairs in a circle outside tents listening to a woman. Children receive psychosocial support and care at a temporary shelter in Gaziantep, Türkiye, on 16 February 2023. Many children who have lost their homes have also lost the safety of their schools, along with their most foundational spaces for learning. Schools…

A deadly combination of displacement, soaring malnutrition rates, conflict and disaster has left more children in need of humanitarian assistance than at any time since the Second World War . As winter weather has brought freezing temperatures and damp conditions to some parts of the world, children have been left especially exposed and vulnerable…, Ukraine, Ukraine. A family stands in the snow outside temporary housing in Irpin, outside of Kyiv. A family stands in the snow outside temporary housing in Irpin, outside of Kyiv, Ukraine. Months of escalating conflict have left millions of children in Ukraine vulnerable to biting winds and frigid temperatures. Hundreds of thousands of people have seen…, Pakistan, Pakistan. Children sit alongside floodwaters in Dadu District, Sindh Province. Children sit alongside floodwaters in Dadu District, Sindh Province, Pakistan. The rains that brought historic flooding to large swathes of Pakistan in 2022 may have ended, but the crisis for children has not. Millions of girls and boys remain in need of immediate,…, Afghanistan, Afghanistan. Children play in a village in Chaghcharan District in Ghor Province in central Afghanistan. Children play in a village in Chaghcharan District in Ghor Province in central Afghanistan. Decades of conflict, combined with a deteriorating economic situation, drought, food insecurity, and recurring floods have left millions of Afghanistan’…, Syria, Syria. A baby smiles as she is held by her mother as the family waits to receive a winter kit, distributed by UNICEF, in northeast Syria. A baby smiles as she is held by her mother as the family waits to receive a winter kit, distributed by UNICEF, in northeast Syria. More than a decade of humanitarian crises and hostilities has left children in…, Global Humanitarian Thematic Funding, Flexible funding makes it possible for UNICEF to deliver assistance to the most vulnerable families when and where it is needed and in a timely and effective manner. In some places, this includes winterization cash top-ups provided at the start of winter for households to access essential winter items for children. Read more about flexible funding…

UNICEF is continuing to support children whose education has been disrupted by conflict in Syria and COVID-19

Nine years of conflict have left Syria’s children reeling, their lives turned upside down – or cut short – by violence, displacement and severed family ties. Across the country, millions of Syrians go hungry each and every day. Eighty per cent of people live below the poverty line. One in three children is out of school, with many also going…, 12 more months of crisis, Syria. Children and families are huddled together after being forced to flee their homes. Children and families who have fled their homes in nearby towns and villages huddle together in Baghoz village in eastern Syria. April 2019: As the conflict in Syria enters its ninth brutal year, the security situation in the northwest of the country…, How UNICEF is helping in Syria, In 2019, UNICEF and partners: Provided safe drinking water for more than 4.7 million people Reached almost 400,000 children with psychosocial support services Reached more than 1.5 million children with support to formal education services Supported more than 2 million women and children to receive health consultations in all 14 governorates…

BARDARASH CAMP, Iraq – The rain is falling quietly over Bardarash camp, in northern Iraq, not far from the Syrian border. But the wind whips loudly at the flaps of Kawthar’s tent. A week ago, she had her own home in Syria. Now, this tent is home. Kawthar, a 25-year-old mother from northeast Syria, says she could see the violence unfolding right in…

AQRABAT and ATMEH, Syria – Eid al-Fitr, the holiday marking the end of Ramadan, is supposed to be a moment for celebration. But for children uprooted by escalating conflict, the usual festivities have been replaced by uncertainty and fear – and talk of ice cream and toys by stories of conflict and explosions. In the villages of Aqrabat and Atmeh,…

IDLIB, Syrian Arab Republic, 9 October 2018 – With the looming threat of a large-scale escalation of violence, more than 1 million children in Idlib, a governorate in northwestern Syrian, wake up every day without knowing if they will be safe. Many of them have come here after fleeing their homes in other parts of Syria. Idlib now holds one of the…

New York, United States of America, 26 June 2018 – As part of a United Nations discussion on children in armed conflict , UNICEF Executive Director Henrietta H. Fore called on humanitarian groups to “band together” for the safety and well-being of children. During the discussion, organized by the UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), Ms. Fore…

The lifesaving help UNICEF provided in 2017 and the situation facing children today

Bassam and his family have been running from war for five years, only to have it chase them every step of the way