International Aid Shortages: Catastrophe Looms in Northern Syria
Alaa Al-Din Ismail – Rana Toutounji
The Syrian conflict, stemming from the March 2011 protests, has created one of the world’s most severe humanitarian crises. An estimated 16.7 million people require humanitarian aid, a situation worsened by economic collapse and ongoing conflict. In this context, international aid to Syria plays a pivotal role in responding to humanitarian needs, filling service delivery gaps, and investing in community cohesion and peacebuilding efforts.
The humanitarian crisis across Syria has been exacerbated in the north of the country, and in the northwest in particular, by displacement and the impact of the devastating earthquake that struck the country on 6 February 2023, killing and injuring tens of thousands and destroying schools and hospitals. Building collapses have displaced large numbers of people, which has doubled the size of the humanitarian crisis, the effects of which have extended to 2024 and reached dangerous levels with the reduction of humanitarian aid in Syria, as a result of weak funding and the failure of international donors to provide support, which prompted the World Food Program to reduce its support to significant levels. Dozens of humanitarian projects in the health, hygiene and education sectors have also stopped, and financial support provided to the displaced has decreased by more than half or stopped completely. In northwestern Syria, where the number of displaced people in Idlib and western Aleppo has approached five million people who were forcibly displaced from other parts of the country, some of whom have been displaced several times, local organizations have been forced to stop a number of their service programs, lay off dozens of employees, and close offices in several cities and towns. The ability of these organizations to provide support to displaced, poor, displaced and afflicted families who depend mainly on humanitarian allocations (food baskets, detergents and blankets) for their food and livelihood has also diminished.
Talal Al-Ibrahim (50 years old) was displaced from the southern Idlib countryside to Armanaz city in the western Idlib countryside. The earthquake caused parts of his house to collapse while he was trying to leave it with his family and mother, which resulted in his two young children sustaining severe head injuries as a result of stones falling from the house wall. Talal says: “A few days after the earthquake, my two young children were discharged from the hospital in good health, and we decided to leave Armanaz city and move to Aqrabat village.” He added: “After a search, we were able to find a modest house consisting of two rooms and utilities for a monthly rent of 50 US dollars, and we did not receive any assistance from any humanitarian organization working in northwestern Syria during the earthquake period.”
Malik Al-Zeer, director of Violet Organization office, attributes the inability of organizations to provide the required support to the decrease in international support, saying: “The decrease in support that occurred recently had a clear impact on civil society organizations working in northern Syria, on all sectors of humanitarian work, and on society in general.” He added: “In the health sector, a significant number of hospitals, health centers and ambulance systems have stopped operating, which has led to a deterioration in the health situation and increased financial burdens on the residents of the region.” He pointed out that “the decrease in support has led to thousands of humanitarian workers losing their jobs and livelihoods.”
The western countryside of Idlib Governorate suffered great losses in buildings and lives during the earthquake disaster, Abdul-Muati Tarboush from Salqin city told the Syrian Center for Media and Freedom of Expression:
I live with my family of 6 in a second-floor house consisting of three rooms and utilities. My house suffered great damage to the walls and parts of the ceiling fell, which led me to leave the house and go live in my sister’s house in another neighborhood of the city of Salqin.” Abdul-Muati, 52 years old, added that “the city council visited his house and inspected the damage to the house, but without receiving any assistance from any organization.” He concluded by saying: “After two months, I repaired the house at my own expense so that I could return with my family to live in it despite the many aftershocks.
The damage in Abdul-Muati Tarboush’s house in Salqin city in the western countryside of Idlib
Suhaib Tlimat, Program Director at Ataa Humanitarian Relief Association, said in a special interview: “Regarding the lack of support in 2024, it is the most difficult year for beneficiaries in all sectors of humanitarian work. After the earthquake, there was an infusion of funding related to emergency response, and thus the funding related to unsustainable projects was very limited. When the state of emergency ended and this funding stopped, this had a negative impact on beneficiaries inside the camps, villages and cities.” He continued: “During the winter of 2024, there were more than 40 informal camps that did not receive any type of winter-related assistance.”
Funding shortages forced aid cuts to camps with concrete buildings or caravans, deemed “decent shelter”, according to Tlimat. Beneficiary criteria were tightened, leading to camp-wide aid cancellation. This is expected to exclude families unable to meet new standards and spark conflict between aid organizations and residents, who will feel unjustly treated.
As for Kafr Takharim city, which received its share of damage during the earthquake disaster, three displaced families from Maarat al-Numan city were living in a house of three rooms and in a building of four floors. The eldest brother, Abdul Karim Qashit, spoke to the Syrian Center for Media and Freedom of Expression:
I am married and have four children. I am 35 years old. I shared the house with my brother Mohammed, who is 24 years old and married with three children, and my brother Dibo, who is 25 years old and also married with three children. After we were displaced from Maarat al-Numan, we were forced to live with each other due to the poor conditions and lack of job opportunities. During the earthquake, the house was severely damaged, which led to parts of the walls collapsing on us before we left the house with my brothers Mohammed and Dibo and their wives and children. The wives of my brother Mohammed and Dibo were injured as a result of the collapse of the house walls. My brother Mohammed’s wife was six months pregnant, and my brother Dibo’s wife was three months pregnant. They were taken to the hospital and the fetuses died. They were discharged from the hospital several days later, and we all moved to live in temporary tents despite their health condition.
Abdul Karim Qashayt pointed out: “The house was damaged by the earthquake and my brother’s wives, Dibo and Muhammad, were injured, but we did not receive any support from any organization.” Samer Matar, director of the White Hands Association, explained: “The reduction in 2024 in providing food aid to northwestern Syria has pushed residents to reduce the number of daily meals and quantities of food to obtain basic supplies, in a new step towards the abyss and increasing the gaps in funding the humanitarian response in Syria.” He added: “The percentage of families who reduced the number of basic meals reached 71.2%, while it reached 93.8% within the camps.”
The western Aleppo countryside in of Al-Jina, which was considered a contact line with the Syrian regime forces before its fall, was severely damaged by the earthquake. Ahmed Mohammed Ali, a 37-year-old married man with 5 children from Al-Jina town, told the Syrian Center for Media and Freedom of Expression:
During the earthquake, my family and I were in our house on the second floor and we were able to get out safely before it all collapsed. My wife, children and I stayed in the street under the heavy rain until the morning with our wet clothes in the bitter cold. Here we went to my brother’s house in the city of Maarat Misrin in the Idlib countryside, which is 21 km away from the town of Al-Jina in the western Aleppo countryside. We stayed in my brother’s house in the city of Maarat Misrin for a week, until my younger brother came and took me to his house in the town of Al-Jina and my family and I lived with him. Despite losing my house and leaving with our clothes, we did not receive any support or compensation.
The remains of Ahmed Mohammed Ali’s house in Al-Jina town in the western countryside of Aleppo
Bayan Al-Sabbagh, partnerships and grants officer at Onsur organization, said: “In general, the amount of aid provided by international donors has decreased sharply, which has exacerbated the suffering of the displaced and needy who rely mainly on this aid to be able to meet their basic needs.” Al-Sabbagh called on the international community and donors to review policies and increase support allocated to the displaced and needy inside Syria and work to ensure the continuity of humanitarian programs that can alleviate the suffering, noting that continuing to provide humanitarian aid is not only a moral duty but also a fundamental factor in achieving stability and building a better future for northern Syria. Al-Sabbagh considered: “Ignoring the humanitarian crisis in northern Syria will lead to a worsening of the situation and an increase in suffering.”
Cities and town in Idlib and Aleppo governorates
Solutions to Address Funding Shortages
Regarding proposed solutions to address the funding shortage for relief organizations, there are three, according to Khaled Qadeemi, director of the Charitable Care Organization for Humanitarian Works, either reducing the number of beneficiaries in general, which is not possible because most of the beneficiaries are below the poverty line, or choosing only the most vulnerable and poor groups, or maintaining the number of beneficiaries while reducing the duration of the aid grant, which is what the Charitable Care Organization for Humanitarian Works chose.
Qadeemi added that searching for sustainable solutions instead of temporary emergency response can save donors huge sums of money and provide better aid to those in need, as well as reduce the costs of delivering aid and search for ideas for economic projects to stimulate the economy and secure decent job opportunities capable of achieving a suitable income for the residents of the region.
In the far southeastern countryside of Idlib governorate, specifically in Al-Nayrab, which is 11 km from Idlib city, financial vouchers were distributed to a number of families and a large portion of families were deprived, according to Ahmed Al-Nisir, a displaced person from Saraqib city to Al-Nayrab town.
Ahmed Al-Nisir (50 years old) lives in Al-Nayrab after being displaced from Saraqib city 4 years ago. He spoke to the Syrian Center for Media and Freedom of Expression:
Financial vouchers were distributed to a number of displaced families and other displaced families were deprived, which led to a state of resentment among families due to extreme poverty and deprivation, as the town of Al-Nayrab was also a contact line with the Syrian regime forces in the past.”
Ali Al-Muhammad (30 years old) from Al-Nayrab married with 4 children and an injury to his left leg due to a landmine, said that he was deprived of financial vouchers without knowing the reason for the deprivation, although he cannot work. He added that he is the sole breadwinner for his family and there is no income or financial return that meets the needs of his home and his family’s sustenance.
The situation in Afrin city was no better off than the cities of northwestern Syria that were hit by the earthquake. Ismail Muhammad sits on the rubble of his destroyed home in Afrin city, exhausted from removing stones and moving the destroyed furniture, as a result of the earthquake disaster that occurred on 6 February 2023. His hands are mixed with dust and the sweat of his forehead is pouring from exhaustion. Next to him is his seventy-year-old mother, who has taken a seat from the side of the building made of stones, and the children eat the bread that their mother has folded to make them imagine that it is filled with the cheese they desire. Ismail was unable to leave his home or even obtain a tent that would enable him and his family to live away from the fear of the return of aftershocks. Ismail Muhammad told the Syrian Center for Media and Freedom of Expression that humanitarian organizations did not visit his home or conduct any survey of his requirements and needs. He described the situation as a great absence of humanitarian organizations that turned a blind eye to the damage to his home, and the organizations went to Jandairis area, which was not in a better condition, but rather suffered the greatest damage and destruction of lives. In a special meeting with Ms. Yusra Haidar, Director of the Relzmi Organization Center in Afrin, who talked to the Syrian Center for Media and Freedom of Expression, pointing out the reason for the unfair distribution:
Because it was a sudden disaster that occurred at night, this called for an immediate response without prior planning or documentation of the number of affected families, as a result of some of them resorting to their relatives’ housing and not being present in the camps or shelters, which deprived them of the humanitarian relief packages that were provided.
Dr. Abdul Hakim Al-Masry, Minister of Economy in the Syrian Interim Government, which was managing the areas under the control of the factions affiliated with Turkey, spoke to the Syrian Center for Media and Freedom of Expression about the high unemployment rate and said there are no accurate statistics on the unemployment rate and the lack of job opportunities. He denied what is being circulated about the rate reaching nearly 80 percent of the population in Afrin and its countryside, noting that the reason for poverty is the low level of income, as he stated that the average income for one family is 3,000 Turkish liras per month, while the average need is 7,000 Turkish liras per month as a minimum, without rent. He said that the Syrian Interim Government is opening investment projects to provide job opportunities for young people and provide an appropriate income for families.
Jawdat Khalil, the camps coordinator in Afrin and its countryside, said:
Most of the camps do not receive support and do not receive relief packages, as the number of families has reached more than 80 thousand individuals, at a rate of 12 thousand families residing in shelters and camps in the villages and districts of Afrin and within the city, from the displaced in various Syrian governorates. This large number is considered a high percentage that may cause families to suffer from serious chronic diseases, including malnutrition and the negative side effects it causes, especially in light of the interruption of support and the cessation of projects after the people completely depended on them.
Statistics of camps and families in Afrin and its countryside according to the coordinator of the camps in Afrin according to Jawdat Khalil, the camps coordinator in Afrin and its countryside The number of camps reached 250
The number of families: 23919
The number of individuals: 63867
The area of these camps has not been determined because they have a large presence and spread in various areas affiliated with the camps, and there is no official body that has determined the area or conducted a geographical survey for that.
Thousands of camps threaten the lives of their residents due to the lack of clean water
The lack of food supplies and the loss of the residents’ food requirements is not the only issue, but it is becoming more complicated in the context of stopping the support of the tents with drinking water, after stopping the support of organizations for those tents and their residents’ reliance on that support primarily, and it causes a number of residents to contract serious diseases that may threaten the lives of many, amid demands and appeals to restore the provision of drinking water and water that is used daily, especially in the summer and the significant rise in temperature. Among the harmful problems that residents are exposed to due to the lack of support from organizations and the failure to disclose waste, there are many tents that have become exposed to serious diseases due to the failure to transport waste and the remaining of garbage and residents’ garbage near their place of residence, not to mention their exposure to the presence of many harmful insects and the spread of mosquitoes, especially in the summer. During a field tour in Afrin and its countryside for the residents of the camps in the region, a number of people were interviewed, as most of them suffer from a severe shortage in providing humanitarian aid, and they demand the provision of medical points and an emergency center for emergency cases and follow-up of the treatment of patients amid the lack of medicines, in addition to their demand to provide cash projects that enable them to live a decent life, while some demanded the provision of insulators for tents and paving the roads and providing bread, hygiene baskets and establishing alternative housing to protect them from the cold and heat in harsh conditions, while others from the residents see the need to establish schools to educate children as educational projects are almost non-existent, which threatens the spread of ignorance and a crisis for generations.
Umm Ahmed’s situation was not the best in Ain al-Tal camp in Afrin countryside, which witnessed cutting organizations’ support for drinking water, which caused the spread of lice, leishmaniasis, stomach infections, and many intestinal diseases, according to what Umm Ahmed described, as she confirmed that her neighbor was transferred to the nearby medical point after she was poisoned after drinking water from the canal near the camp, which became the only alternative for the camp residents after the sterilized water was cut off as a result of the organizations stopping their support for the camps with water. Jassim al-Hamad, one of the displaced people to Jandairis city, explained to the Syrian Center for Freedom and Expression the extent of the great damage in the neighborhood in which he lives, noting the psychological impact left by the earthquake after he and his family miraculously survived, saying: “To survive a night full of panic and death is a blessing from God,” explaining that he is still suffering from the negative impact after losing his home and remaining in a shelter within the city without receiving assistance from the humanitarian organizations working in the area.
The rise of volunteer teams that rival the work of organizations, yet lacking financial support
In the earthquake period, volunteer teams rose with several young women and men, the most prominent of which are (Ki La Yumha AlAthar, and Jaber Athrat Al-Karam). They worked day and night and extended working hours in the humanitarian sector to help the civil defense in Afrin city and provide a suitable environment by establishing shelters, trying to provide services that allow the residents to regain psychological support, but there are great difficulties and challenges facing these teams, as they only received partial support from donor agencies, and did not have the ability to fully secure the residents’ needs.
Safaa Kamel, Director of Ki La Yumha AlAthar Volunteer Women’s Team, said to the Syrian Center for Freedom and Expression the most prominent difficulties and obstacles facing their work during the humanitarian response period to the earthquake disaster in Afrin city, noting that these difficulties are represented by the lack of a database for affected families or a body that the teams rely on for statistics due to the presence of residents in randomly distributed places in shelters and within the points of mosques and stadiums.
Safaa added:
Our teams were unable to reach some families amidst the disparity in the response between the camps and the affected areas, the lack of organization, and the reliance on available capabilities amidst the weakness of the materials provided. We were later able to distribute tasks to mitigate the negative effects by studying the needs of the camps and securing a safe place in the tents and shelters, distributing meals in addition to clothes for pregnant women and children, food baskets, bread, drinking water and daily use. Baby milk and diapers were also provided for children and the disabled, and heating materials such as firewood, diesel, mattresses and tents were secured.
Osama Al-Masry, the coordinator of Jaber Athrat Al-Karam volunteer team, pointed out in a special meeting with the Syrian Center for Media and Freedom of Expression regarding the status of support for organizations, that international donors did not change their support policy neither before nor after the earthquake. Support remained the same, but the budget provided to organizations in many sectors was reduced in the last few months. During the earthquake period, support provided to volunteer teams increased through personal efforts from businessmen, traders, influencers, and religious scholars. As for international efforts and the United Nations, their support was and still is very timid compared to the size of the great tragedy that befell all sectors of northern Syria as a result of wars, earthquakes, and poverty.
Osama Al-Masry explained, saying: “The big mistake that many organizations make when providing relief services is that they do not take into account the methodology of justice in distribution, but rather the methodology of equality, such that the rich and the poor alike, the needy and the non-needy, those whose income is a thousand dollars a month and those whose income does not exceed seventy dollars a month, benefit from relief services equally. He believed that the fair methodology in distribution requires studying the conditions and needs of poor families and excluding non-needy families, and working to try to enrich the poor, not to suffice them, and supporting the idea of small projects so that the poor do not remain poor for life, waiting for the relief organization to give them a food basket.”
Ruba Qashta, director of Wathiqoon project, explained to us in a special interview with the Syrian Center for Media and Freedom of Expression: Noting the volume of humanitarian aid provided to those who deserve it in Afrin and its countryside after the earthquake disaster, she said that it is still small compared to the scale of the disaster, especially since the Syrian society has been living in war for more than 13 years, and the earthquake disaster has worsened the situation, from the destruction of infrastructure and the new displacement of Syrian families and the loss of livelihoods.
Ruba added: What made the situation more difficult is the geographical nature of the Afrin areas, which are characterized by difficult terrain, which affected the process of providing aid.
Ruba pointed out that humanitarian organizations made a good effort in responding to the earthquake disaster by providing food, medicine, and others, but this aid is not sufficient and its provision was delayed due to lack of coordination or logistical problems in addition to political restrictions on the mechanism for bringing aid across borders. She noted that after the February 2023 earthquake, a women’s humanitarian initiative was launched through the networks that Mars had established and founded in the affected areas to provide support to the most affected families, especially pregnant and lactating women, in addition to mothers with children under the age of three. The initiative began by collecting donations to provide basic goods and urgent aid, and soon developed to include providing direct cash support to needy families. Later, the work expanded with the support of Mars to include the rehabilitation of damaged homes, mainly in the areas of Jandairis and Jisr al-Shughour.
This project embodied inspiring women’s efforts, and achieved a significant impact in improving the living conditions of affected families, with a focus on the most vulnerable groups in the face of the effects of the disaster. Regarding the demands to cover all the people’s needs of food and humanitarian aid for Mars Organization, Ruba Qashta explained the necessity of taking into consideration the specificity of the Syrian situation and the successive crises it has been experiencing for about 13 years, calling for the implementation of income-generating projects in the first place that achieve the family’s financial independence and do not keep the Syrian citizen waiting for aid that gradually decreases year after year due to the decrease in funding, as projects must be planned in a way that achieves sustainable economic development, as she described it. It is noteworthy that dozens of local and international humanitarian organizations operating in the northwestern regions of Syria have suspended dozens of projects affiliated with the United Nations, especially those affiliated with the World Food Program, which has caused hundreds of families to lose their only source of livelihood and their unemployment rate to rise.
This investigation is part of a project carried out by the Syrian Center for Media and Freedom of Expression. It was published in Suwar magazine on February 26, 2025, under the supervision of Dr. Mona Abdel Maqsoud.
International Aid Shortages: Catastrophe Looms in Northern Syria
