Introduction
More than 12 years after the start of the Syria crisis, half the population is displaced, both inside and outside the country. Humanitarian needs in Syria are now at an all-time high.
7 in 10 Syrians are in need of humanitarian assistance. They have been confronted with the impact of conflict, displacement, a pandemic, epidemics, and a devastating earthquake.
As the leading donor of humanitarian aid to Syrians, the EU and its Member States have provided sustained humanitarian funding since the start of the conflict.
What are the needs?
Even before the devastating earthquakes of February 2023, the humanitarian needs in Syria were already unprecedented.
The number of people in need has steadily increased since 2012, reaching 15.3 million people in 2023. There has been a significant 40% rise in the number of people requiring assistance over the past 3 years.
Without a political solution, humanitarian needs will undoubtedly continue to rise further.
According to the 2023 humanitarian needs overview:
- 85% of households cannot meet their basic needs
- more than half the population lacks a stable source of water
- more than 12 million people face food shortages.
Moreover, less than 60% of health facilities are fully functional and more than 2 million children remain out of school.
The crisis and conflict have resulted in mass displacement, widespread poverty and destruction, economic recession, and the spread of preventable diseases.
The parts of Syria that were most affected by the earthquakes are also the areas with significant humanitarian needs, particularly in non-government-controlled areas in Northwest Syria. The majority of the over 4 million people in need in Northwest Syria were affected by the earthquakes.
There are currently over 5.4 million registered Syrian refugees in the region, mostly in Türkiye, Lebanon, and Jordan.
How are we helping?
Despite many challenges, the EU has continued to provide impartial humanitarian aid to those in need across Syria since 2011. The EU and its Member States are leading international aid donors to those affected by the multidimensional crisis in Syria.
Over the past 12 years, the EU has mobilised more than €30 billion in humanitarian, development, economic and stabilisation assistance. It has supported Syrians both inside the country and across the region.
This includes more than €3.7 billion in humanitarian aid to Syrians and vulnerable host communities inside Syria and the region, including close to €1.4 billion for Syria alone. Since 2017, the EU also organises a yearly Brussels conference to support the future of Syria and the region to encourage pledges.
Latest EU humanitarian assistance
In 2023, the European Commission allocated over €170 million in humanitarian aid to assist millions of people inside Syria. This past year, the EU has regularly topped up its humanitarian funding to respond to emergencies such as a cholera outbreak, food insecurity and the February 2023 earthquakes.
In response to the earthquakes, humanitarian partners on the ground:
- conducted search and rescue operations
- provided tents, blankets, hygiene, cooking and other essential household items to the homeless
- supplied health facilities with medicines.
The EU also sent supplies from the European Humanitarian Response Capacity warehouses in Brindisi and Dubai. The aim was to support the aid efforts throughout the country.
In addition to humanitarian aid, the EU Civil Protection Mechanism was activated 2 days after the 6 February earthquake. Relief from 16 European countries was trucked in via Lebanon and Tϋrkiye to government and non-government controlled areas.
Overall support
More generally, EU humanitarian aid in Syria focuses primarily on addressing critical needs. It also promotes sustainable life-saving assistance or early recovery by improving access to basic services for an increasingly deprived population.
The assistance is channelled through our humanitarian partners, who provide the most vulnerable with shelter, health care, food assistance, livelihoods support, water, sanitation and hygiene services, psychosocial support, education, and protection.
The EU closely cooperates with all its humanitarian partners across the country: NGOs, UN agencies and the International Red Cross and Red Crescent movement. They adhere to the humanitarian principles of humanity, neutrality, impartiality and independence.
The EU has repeatedly called for the respect of international humanitarian law. It continuously urges parties to the conflict to allow unimpeded and safe humanitarian access to people in need.
We also fund humanitarian aid in countries in the region – Tϋrkiye, Lebanon, Jordan, Iraq and Egypt – which host around 5.4 million registered Syrian refugees together.
Last updated: 16/06/2023
Facts & figures
15.3 million people in need in 2023.
More than 6.8 million internally displaced.
Over 5.4 million registered Syrian refugees in the region, including:
- 3.5 million in Türkiye
- 814,000 in Lebanon
- 661,000 in Jordan
(sources: OCHA, IOM, UNHCR - February 2023)
EU humanitarian funding inside Syria:
over €170 million in 2023.
Total assistance by the EU and its Member States to the Syria crisis:
more than €30 billion since 2011.