Syria humanitarian needs reach record high since crisis began

Syria humanitarian needs reach record high since crisis began
February 25, 2022, 8:24 am

Al-salihiya souq in Damascus

The Arab News reported, citing the AFP, the UN said that a record number of people in Syria are in need of humanitarian assistance more than a decade into a devastating civil war.

The UN’s humanitarian agency OCHA said in a report that at least 14.6 million people in Syria are in need of humanitarian aid, up from 13.4 million last year.

The UN deputy regional humanitarian coordi- nator for the Syria conflict, Mark Cutts, said: “Suffering in Syria is at its highest level since the crisis began."

He said in a post on Twitter: “The UN and its partners are reaching 7 million people every month, but more support is required."

The war in Syria is estimated to have killed nearly half a million people and displaced millions more since it began with a brutal crackdown on anti-government protests in 2011.

Syrian refugees (File photo: Facebook page)

The country is also grappling with an economic crisis compounded by Western sanctions, the COVID-19 pandemic and a sharp fall in the value of the Syrian pound.

OCHA said that over three quarters of house- holds — 76 percent — are unable to meet their most basic needs, an increase of 10 percent from last year.

The report said, Syria’s internally displaced population makes up 37 percent of the people requiring humanitarian assistance.

Syria is witnessing unprecedented levels of poverty, UN official

People who have never been displaced or who returned to their place of origin before January 2021, are also increasingly unable to meet basic needs, OCHA said, calling it an “indication” of the growing scale of the crisis.

According to OCHA, in 2021, 9.2 million vulnerable residents were estimated to be in need.

Source: arabnews

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