SYRIA
A country on its knees. A hope that endures.
A crisis lasting more than a decade
After 14 years of conflict, Syria is now one of the most devastated countries in the world. Around 16.7 million people, over 70% of the population, need humanitarian assistance to survive. More than 7 million are internally displaced, while another 5.6 million live as refugees abroad. The economy has collapsed, the healthcare system is at breaking point, and access to water, food, and electricity is severely compromised. Nearly 6 million Syrian children are directly affected by the conflict: an entire generation raised amid violence, hunger, and disrupted schooling.
After the fall of the regime
The year 2024 marked a historic moment for Syria: the fall of Bashar al-Assad’s regime. This epoch-making change, welcomed with celebrations in many parts of the country, has not brought immediate recovery. International aid struggles to reach those in need. The healthcare system is virtually non-existent, the education system fragmented, and access to basic goods heavily constrained.
Many families who hoped to return home have been forced to remain in camps. Hope has turned into waiting; waiting into daily survival. A global commitment is urgently needed to ensure a transition that places human rights, the protection of civilians, and the future of new generations at its core.
The North-West: epicentre of the emergency
North-West Syria—particularly the provinces of Idlib and Aleppo—is home to more than 4.5 million people, over 3.4 million of whom are displaced. This is where the emergency is most acute: nearly half of all displaced Syrians are concentrated here.
Most people live in informal camps or makeshift shelters, without access to basic services. Eighty percent of the population are women and children—the most vulnerable groups, exposed to violence, early marriage, child labour, and lack of education. Today, the North-West is one of the most isolated and fragile regions on the planet.
Children on the front line
Nationwide, 2.4 million Syrian children are out of school. In the Northwest, an estimated one in two children is outside the education system. Entire generations are growing up without formal schooling, often forced to work, marry early, or simply survive in extremely dangerous environments.
The fall of the regime has not changed this reality: in the most unstable areas, schools remain dangerous, damaged or occupied by armed groups. Desperate families are forced to choose between education and survival.
Humanitarian emergency at a standstill
The humanitarian crisis in Syria remains one of the worst in the world. Access to food, water, healthcare, and safe shelter is limited or non-existent. Epidemics - such as cholera and dysentery - are on the rise, especially among children and the elderly. Prices of essential goods have skyrocketed, and many families can no longer feed their children. Local clinics are overcrowded, with few doctors and almost no medicine.
