Syria

Introduction

More than a decade of hostilities has inflicted immense suffering on civilians and left Syria on a difficult path to recovery. Continued displacement, the collapse of essential services, and extensive destruction of infrastructure have left 15.6 million people in urgent need of humanitarian assistance in 2026. 

As a leading donor, the EU and its Member States have provided sustained humanitarian support since the start of the crisis and remain committed to assisting the most vulnerable at this critical juncture in Syria’s history.

Facts & figures

Through its humanitarian efforts, the EU provides vital support to those most in need.

EU humanitarian funding inside Syria:

Total assistance by the EU and its Member States to the Syria crisis:
over €41 billion since 2011

What are the needs?

Following the overthrow of the Assad regime in late 2024, Syria is undergoing profound political and social changes. Humanitarian needs remain at record levels, with 15.6 million people relying on aid. While significant population movements were observed throughout 2025, approximately 1.2 million internally displaced persons remain in camps and camp-like settlements. Many others who returned to their areas of origin face severe challenges due to the widespread destruction of housing, infrastructure, and public services.

An estimated 14.7 million Syrians need protection assistance, facing multiple threats such as: 

• exposure to unexploded ordnance
• lack of civil documentation
• gender-based violence
• early and forced marriage
• child labour

The protracted economic crisis, liquidity shortages, and drought-like conditions have deepened food insecurity and eroded livelihoods, pushing 13.3 million people into food insecurity. Agricultural production has been severely affected by the contamination of farmland with explosive remnants of war, and limited access to inputs. 

Health service availability remains critically low: only about 57% of hospitals and 30% of primary healthcare centres are functional. Access to the following remains highly limited: 

• sexual and reproductive health services
• mental health and psychosocial support
• gender-based violence services 

Extensive infrastructure damage, over-extraction of groundwater, leakages, and insufficient rainfall translate into widespread lack of access to water, sanitation and hygiene for almost half of the population.

Nearly 2.7 million children remain out of school because of overcrowded classrooms, damaged facilities, or schools being used as collective shelters.

How are we helping?

Despite many challenges, the EU has continued to provide impartial humanitarian aid to those in need across Syria since 2011. Along with its Member States, the EU is the largest donor to the Syria crisis, having mobilised more than €41 billion in humanitarian, development, economic and stabilisation assistance since 2011 to support Syrians inside Syria and across the region. 

This includes more than €4.4 billion in humanitarian aid only, to Syrians and vulnerable host communities inside Syria and the region. Among these €4.4 billion, over €2.17 billion in humanitarian aid concerns Syria alone. 

Since 2017, the EU also organised an annual Brussels Conference on ‘Supporting the future of Syria and the region’ to provide space for Syrian voices, keep Syria high on the political agenda, and to encourage financial pledges to the response. Following the December 2024 transition, the EU has stepped up its high-level engagement, engaging in direct interaction with the Syrian authorities, as well as organising the first ‘Day of Dialogue’ in Damascus in November 2025.

Latest EU humanitarian assistance

Humanitarian needs spiked at the end of November 2024 following a large-scale offensive in northwest Syria, which ultimately led to the overthrow of the Assad regime on 8 December 2024. Nearly 1 million people were displaced from areas directly affected by hostilities, disrupting health services and causing severe shortages of essential medicines and trauma care. ReliefEU capacities were activated to mobilise EU stocks from the UNICEF supply division in Copenhagen, as well as transport  to support the Wolrd Health Organization in the delivery of essential health assistance.  

Wildfires

In July 2025, a series of wildfires broke out across Lattakia and Tartus governorates in northwestern Syria, destroying around 1,500 hectares of land, affecting an estimated 8,500 people, and displacing more than 1,100. On 11 July, Germany provided firefighting equipment, including an off-road firefighting vehicle via the EU Civil Protection Mechanism. During the same period, an escalation of hostilities in As-Sweida, southern Syria, displaced more than 190,000 people and severely disrupted the delivery of basic services. The EU allocated emergency funding of €1.6 million to address the most urgent hygiene, health, protection, and emergency items needed.

For 2026, the European Commission has allocated €210 million in humanitarian funding. This will help sustain life-saving emergency response and protection across the entire country.

Overall support

EU humanitarian aid in Syria focuses on addressing critical life-saving needs as well as paving way towards early recovery by improving access to basic services for a deprived population. The assistance is channelled through EU humanitarian partners, that support the most vulnerable with: 

The EU cooperates closely 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 calls for full respect of International Humanitarian Law, urging the protection of civilians and civilian infrastructures and the unimpeded, safe and sustained delivery of humanitarian assistance to people in need.

The EU also funds humanitarian aid in countries across the region – Türkiye, Lebanon, Jordan, Iraq and Egypt – which hosts millions of Syrian refugees.