Syrian Arab Republic: 2023 Humanitarian Needs Overview (December 2022) [EN/AR]

Humanitarian Context and Impact of the Crisis

Waking up in Syria today means looking at a bleak future ahead of you. Syria faces a multitude of challenges that make it one of the world’s most complex humanitarian and protection emergencies. After eleven years of crisis during which the country has lost 42 places on the Human Development Index, most Syrians face a context of continuing humanitarian decline. The country still has the largest number of internally displaced people in the world: 6.8 million people, and the highest number of people in need since the beginning of the crisis. Humanitarian and economic indicators continue to deteriorate, basic services are collapsing, and an ongoing cholera outbreak and climatic shocks compound an already dire situation. As a result of these challenges, in 2023, 15.3 million people will require humanitarian assistance, including 2.1 million IDPs living in last-resort IDP sites, with needs that keep increasing across all sectors.

For the first time, Syrians living across every sub-district in Syria are experiencing some degree of humanitarian stress. The protracted crisis in Syria is resulting in 203 sub-districts out of 270 sub-districts now classified as being under severe, extreme, or catastrophic conditions. In 2022, there are no longer any sub-districts classified as being under minimal severity. The Multi-Sector Needs Assessment (MSNA) data suggest a levelling of needs across all governorates, with some clear and specific drivers of need across the four main population groups (IDPs in camps, IDPs out of camps, returnees and vulnerable residents).

Basic services and other critical infrastructure are on the brink of collapse. Widespread and frequent power outages mean more than half of Syrians need regularly to rely on candles to light their homes. Those who fall sick only have a slim chance of finding a functioning hospital. Only 59 per cent of hospitals, 57 per cent of primary health care facilities and 63 per cent of specialized centres are fully functioning.

Over 58 per cent of households interviewed reported accessing only between three to eight hours of electricity per day, while almost seven million people only had access to their primary water source between two and seven days per month in June. This situation only increases household reliance on humanitarian assistance and negative coping mechanisms.
Life is increasingly unaffordable, with the erosion of savings, and price increases for basic commodities that have almost doubled, driving needs severity and new displacement. The crippled economy, which is characterized by high inflation, currency depreciation and increases in the prices of commodities, remains one of the biggest drivers of need. It drives more people towards poverty, makes them more reliant on humanitarian assistance, increases resort to harmful coping mechanisms and increases the cost of response. It is creating a situation in which some population movements in Syria are triggered by the search for better access to basic services and livelihood opportunities. The economic decline creates additional obstacles for people, especially the most vulnerable and marginalised, to access services.

The ongoing conflict in several parts of the country continues to leave people in fear of attacks and at risk of new displacement. While large-scale hostilities have subsided following the March 2020 Idleb ceasefire agreement, localized hostilities and lasting impact from previous clashes have continued throughout 2022. Artillery shelling, air strikes, land mines and unexploded ordnance devastate civilians and humanitarian activities. With ever-increasing pressure in neighbouring countries on refugees to return, the geopolitical context is also creating a climate of fear for millions of Syrians who have known nothing but conflict and displacement. Safety and security concerns remain a gendered issue as women and girls continue disproportionately being affected by various forms of violence.

Compounding the impact of protracted conflict, Syrians face the added catastrophic consequences of climate-related shocks, with serious drought and flooding creating new uncertainties. A severe and long-term drought in Syria has created poor vegetation conditions and drier-than-normal precipitation seasons have persisted in 2022. Water deficits have been exacerbated by unusually dry conditions during the wet season and by abnormally high air temperatures. Combined with low water levels in the Euphrates River and damaged water infrastructure, these conditions have reduced access to water for drinking and domestic use for millions of Syrians, triggered substantial harvest and income losses, an increase in waterborne diseases and malnutrition rates, displacements, and additional protection and gender-based violence (GBV), especially for women and children. In September 2022, a cholera outbreak was declared.