Today's top news: Syria, Afghanistan and Pakistan, Ukraine

Children in the New Alfaqiea Camp, Sarmada, Idleb.

9 March 2023, New Alfaqiea Camp, Sarmada, Idleb. OCHA conducted an in-person visit to project sites in north-west Syria, where families received cash and other assistance through the Syria Cross-border Humanitarian Fund (SCHF).

Syria

The Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs, Martin Griffiths, has wrapped up his visit to the country. Earlier today, he met with representatives of national and international NGOs and other humanitarian partners and heard from them the challenges that aid workers face and what can be done to bolster existing aid operations.

OCHA and its partners continues to scale up the operations; 937 trucks carrying aid from seven UN agencies have crossed into north-west Syria from Türkiye since the earthquakes.

We have also completed 34 cross-border missions to north-west Syria since the first interagency visit to Idleb on 14 February, in order to meet and hear from people, assess their needs and coordinate the response.

Afghanistan and Pakistan

There were earthquakes in Afghanistan and Pakistan yesterday. In Afghanistan, assessment teams are being deployed to areas affected by the tremors, while assessments of damage continue in Pakistan.

Ukraine

The Humanitarian Coordinator Denise Brown was in the front-line city of Kramatorsk in the Donetsk region yesterday. She met women affected by the war, as well as the women-led organizations and volunteers working to support them.

They told Ms. Brown about their struggles to meet basic needs, such as buying food and hygiene supplies and accessing drinking water.

Some groups – such women in the Roma community or those living with disabilities – face discrimination and difficulties when trying to secure shelter and other services.

The Humanitarian Coordinator is working with humanitarian partners to meet the needs of people in and around Kramatorsk. She plans to organize more dialogues to ensure a more inclusive humanitarian response in Ukraine.

This morning, humanitarian partners reached the front-line community of Lyman with a four-truck convoy, delivering food, emergency shelter kits, hygiene supplies, and other critical household items – as well as three months of medical supplies for the 12,000 civilians still living there, including 600 children.

Daily shelling has heightened humanitarian needs in Lyman, which has no water or electricity. Medical care is limited, with just one hospital and one primary care facility still functional.

OCHA and its partners will continue our work to ensure that civilians in these communities get life-saving assistance.