Syrian crisis
After nearly 15 years of conflict and crisis, children continue to pay the heaviest price.
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Children in Syria are facing one of the most complex emergencies in the world. While the change in authorities in December 2024 brought cautious optimism, intermittent violence, localized escalations and regional tensions persisted, deepening humanitarian needs. Despite the ongoing uncertainty, UNICEF remains on the ground delivering lifesaving assistance and supporting Syrian families.
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Impact on children | How we’re responding | Results for children | Situation updates
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What’s happening in Syria?
Millions of Syria's children have grown up knowing nothing but conflict. Shattered infrastructure, ongoing displacement and limited services have left 7.5 million children in need of humanitarian assistance.
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 2.45 million children out of school and around a million more at risk of dropping out, putting them at greater risk of child labour, child marriage, and recruitment and use by parties to conflict. Years of conflict has also left communities across Syria littered with deadly remnants of war. Today, an estimated 5 million children live in areas contaminated with landmines and explosive remnants of war. Across roads, fields, homes and schools, an estimated 324,000 unexploded devices remain scattered across the country, posing a constant and invisible threat to children’s safety.
Lack of access to safe water, poor sanitation, increasing food insecurity, and the severely weakened 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.
Meanwhile, large numbers of displaced people and refugees are returning to communities where homes, schools, health facilities and water systems remain damaged or overstretched. Economic hardship is forcing many families to make difficult choices between food, healthcare, education and other basic needs.
Syria crisis in numbers
Children in Syria are facing one of the most complex emergencies in the world. By the middle of 2026:
- 7 million people remained internally displaced.
- Explosive ordnance contamination threatened 5 million children’s safety and access to education and essential services.
- 5.7 million people, including 3.7 million children, needed nutrition support.
- 2.45 million children were out of school, and one million more children are at risk of dropping out.
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. Years of violence, repeated displacement, loss and uncertainty have had a profound impact on children’s mental health and psychosocial well-being. Across the country, insecurity and economic hardship continue to expose children to violence, fear, psychological distress, exploitation and abuse, including gender-based violence, child marriage and violence, exploitation and recruitment.
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.
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 and 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.
UNICEF also supports children affected by violence, displacement and explosive ordnance through psychosocial support, case management, family-based care, explosive ordnance risk education and other child protection services.
Results for children in Syria
In 2025, UNICEF and partners:
Page updated: 5 August 2026