Syrian Arab Republic Appeal

Since the change of authorities in December 2024, Syria has entered a new phase marked by cautious optimism. However, sporadic violence and regional tensions continue to exacerbate humanitarian needs. Recent hostilities in the South have resulted in civilian casualties, restricted access, and damage to health and water infrastructure—disrupting essential services for children and families. These developments reflect the enduring impact of over 14 years of conflict and instability. 

Humanitarian needs are deepening due to climate shocks, economic decline, and persistent insecurity. Explosive ordnance contamination remains a grave threat, with over 493 incidents reported since January 2025 with two-thirds killing and injuring children. These hazards not only endanger lives but also hinder access to education, safe spaces, and basic services. 

Only 57 per cent of hospitals and 37 per cent of primary healthcare centres are fully operational, limiting access to life-saving care. The health system remains overstretched and under-resourced, with continued violence threatening the delivery of essential medical services. Over half the population is food insecure, including 600,000 children under five suffering from wasting, of whom 177,000 are severely wasted. Syria’s worst drought in 36 years, with rainfall below 54 per cent, is affecting 8.5 million people, including 1.8 million severely affected. Water scarcity is threatening access to clean drinking water. Poor sanitation, unsafe water, and hygiene gaps are driving waterborne diseases, leishmaniasis, and rising malnutrition. 

The education sector remains critically affected. More than 2.5 million children are out of school, and 40 per cent of education infrastructure—around 8,000 schools—requires urgent rehabilitation. Overcrowded classrooms, inadequate WASH facilities, limited learning materials, and a shortage of trained teachers hinder learning and reintegration, especially for returnee children. The lack of safe and inclusive learning environments continues to undermine children's development and future prospects. 

Syria’s displacement crisis persists. An estimated 7 million people are still internally displaced—2 million in camps and 5 million outside. Between November 2024 and July 2025, 881,788 people were newly displaced. Moreover, nearly 1.6 million internally displaced persons including around 923,000 children and 754,436 Syrian refugees including 430,00 children have returned to their areas of origin, placing additional pressure on overstretched public services and fragile infrastructure. Approximately 2 million Syrain refugees are expected to return in 2025, placing additional pressure on overstretched public services. 

With a 1.5 per cent GDP contraction in 2024 and only 1 per cent projected growth in 2025, two-thirds of Syrians live below the lower-middle-income poverty line. Protection concerns, mental health needs, gender-based violence, and limited access to services persist—especially for returnees.

Under a One-Syria approach, UNICEF will prioritize addressing the immediate, severe, and protracted humanitarian needs of Syria’s population. Despite the 2025 HNRP and HAC reprioritization, humanitarian needs remain significant due to increased access, population returns, and growing needs from escalation of conflict in southern Syria. UNICEF's response will ensure equitable access to services based on vulnerability, targeting internally displaced persons and returnees, whether former IDPs or refugees, and host communities. 

UNICEF will deliver on its core mandate through life-saving and protection interventions, while leading inter-agency efforts in Nutrition, Education, WASH sectors and Child Protection Area of Responsibility (AoR). Equity-based, community-focused programming will extend beyond emergency response, linking to early recovery, resilience, and peace-building through strong partnerships with communities, civil society organizations, youth groups, government, and humanitarian actors. 

System strengthening at national, sub-national, and community levels will be central to UNICEF’s approach, enhancing resilience and preparedness through decentralized programming, effective communication and advocacy, and efficient resource utilization. Programming will be integrated across sectors, promoting risk-informed, child-centred, conflict-sensitive, and gender-responsive approaches—inclusive of children with disabilities—to achieve transformative, sustainable results for every child. 

UNICEF and partners will ensure access to safe, equitable, and life-saving health services, including secondary care for newborns and children. This will be achieved through outreach, community engagement, restoration of local health systems, and expanded vaccination campaigns.

Children’s well-being will be supported through preventive and curative nutrition services, using a life-cycle approach and multi-sectoral support for children and women. 

The WASH programme will ensure equitable access to safe water, sanitation, and hygiene through emergency response and infrastructure rehabilitation. It will promote climate-informed water resource management, support the national water strategy, and embed drought resilience into planning and governance. 

Education interventions will provide access to formal and non-formal learning, including early childhood development, with a focus on reintegrating internally displaced people and returnees through early recovery and institutional strengthening. 

Child protection efforts will prevent and respond to abuse, neglect, exploitation, and violence through mental health support, positive parenting, and explosive ordnance risk education. Humanitarian cash transfers and shock-responsive social protection will support vulnerable families and address nutrition and protection needs. 

UNICEF will empower adolescents through safe, meaningful engagement in peacebuilding and resilience. Social and behavioural change approaches will foster trust, demand for services, and accountability through media, community systems, and engagement. 

UNICEF will ensure inclusive, data-driven programmes, mainstreaming prevention from sexual exploitation and abuse and accountability to affected populations.