Syrian crisis
After 14 years of conflict and crisis, children continue to pay the heaviest price.
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Millions of Syria’s children have grown up knowing nothing but conflict. Even before the escalation of fighting in late 2024, a protracted war, economic decay, disease outbreaks, mass displacement, and shattered infrastructure had left millions of children in need of humanitarian assistance. As insecurity and uncertainty continue, UNICEF remains on the ground delivering lifesaving assistance and supporting Syrian families.
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What’s happening in Syria?
Children in Syria are facing one of the most complex emergencies in the world. More than 7 million children in Syria require humanitarian assistance, while more than 6 million children are in urgent need of protection services as insecurity and economic hardship deepen child rights violations, fear and distress.
Healthcare remains fragile, with almost 40 per cent of hospitals and health facilities partly or completely non-functional. Destruction or damage to thousands of schools and massive displacement of families has left many children out of school, putting them at greater risk of child labour, child marriage, trafficking, and recruitment and use by parties to conflict. Over a decade of devastating conflict has also left communities across Syria littered with deadly remnants of war, including hundreds of thousands of pieces of unexploded ordnance scattered across the country.
Meanwhile, lack of access to safe water, poor sanitation, increasing food insecurity, and the collapsing health system have resulted not only in increased vulnerability to fast-spreading waterborne and vaccine-preventable diseases, but also sparked a dramatic increase in malnutrition among children.
How have children been affected by the crisis?
For many children in Syria, conflict is the only thing they know. They continue to live in fear of violence, landmines, and explosive remnants of war. Across the country, insecurity and economic hardship continue to contribute to human rights violations, fear and psychological distress, leading to gender-based violence, child marriage and the risk of sexual exploitation and abuse.
The country also faces one of the largest education crises in recent history, with a whole generation of Syrian children paying the price of conflict. Education facilities are overstretched, and many schools cannot be used because they have been destroyed, damaged, shelter displaced families or are being used for other purposes. Children with disabilities carry a double burden when it comes to violence, threats to their health and safety, hunger, risk of abuse, and loss of education. Lack of mobility and difficulty fleeing harm have further compounded the challenges they face.
UNICEF remains on the ground delivering lifesaving assistance and supporting Syrian families as they chart a new path for their country. But a credible and inclusive political transition must prioritize the rights of Syria’s 10 million children.
What is UNICEF doing to help children in Syria?
Across Syria and in the neighbouring countries, UNICEF and partners continue to work to protect children, to help them cope with the impact of conflict. This includes improving psychosocial support to help children and caregivers recover from trauma, as well as delivering lifesaving support and services for children struggling physically and psychologically.
UNICEF delivers critical humanitarian assistance, such as safe drinking water, vaccines and other health and nutrition items across the country, including accessing hard-to-reach areas. Meanwhile, UNICEF and partners are improving school facilities, training teachers and repairing water and sanitation facilities.
In response to the escalations in late 2024, UNICEF deployed mobile medical teams, facilitated education for thousands of vulnerable children through prefabricated schools, and ensured access to clean water for millions of people.
Results for children in Syria
In 2024, UNICEF and partners:
Page updated: 11 September 2025