UN deputy relief chief tells Security Council lack of funding forcing UN in Syria to cut much needed aid to people

Briefing to the Security Council on the humanitarian situation in Syria by Ms. Joyce Msuya, Assistant Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Deputy Emergency Relief Coordinator

                                                                                                                                                          As prepared for delivery

Thank you, Mr. President.

Let me begin by wishing Ramadan Kareem to all who observe it.

This year, the Holy Month comes as Syria marks 13 years of conflict, with yet more civilian deaths and injuries, most notably in Northern Syria, and mounting humanitarian needs across the country.

More than 7 million people remain displaced from their homes.

And more than half the population – nearly 13 million people – need food assistance.

Acute malnutrition among children under the age of five has surged threefold in the past five years. As a result, more than half a million children will need life-saving treatment for acute malnutrition this year.

More people need humanitarian aid in Syria now than at any point in the crisis. And yet funding for our humanitarian appeal has fallen to a record low.  

Mr. President, as families across Syria celebrate Mother's Day today, we are reminded that, throughout the country, women and girls continue to grapple with some of the worst impacts of the humanitarian crisis.

Our colleagues in Syria recently met with several women who were marking the start of Ramadan in Aleppo. Hanaa, a mother of five who also now cares for five orphaned grandchildren, said that it has been almost a year since her family had meat or cheese. She is constantly worried about sending her grandchildren to school with empty stomachs.

Another – Maha – said she is often forced to make painful choices, such as between basic food and medicine for her children.

And in Idleb, Umm Ahmed, a mother of 12 boys and girls, told our colleagues that she has been living in a tent since being displaced from her home five years ago. She spends her days with her children at a landfill, looking for materials to sell to buy food. She is not able to cook for her family this Ramadan because she is not receiving any food baskets.

Mr. President, despite the enormous needs, the ability of the humanitarian community to provide assistance is severely limited.

As we noted last month, our annual humanitarian appeal for 2023 received less than 40 per cent of the required funding.

The consequences are devastating. The World Food Programme has been compelled to reduce its emergency food assistance from 3 million to 1 million people per month. WFP is now only able to reach a third of the most severely food insecure.

In the north-west, over 30 outpatient therapeutic feeding programmes for malnourished children have been forced to close since October. Over 75 nutrition rapid response teams – about half the total – have also suspended operations.

Meanwhile, food prices and the cost of living continue to climb to record highs. In the past year, the cost of a household’s minimum expenditure basket has doubled, with the food prices increasing by more than 140 per cent. Prices for some key items, such as chickpeas and potatoes, have risen by more than 200 per cent. The minimum wage now covers only 11 per cent of basic food needs.

Vital health services are also being reduced and the prices of medicine have surged 200 per cent in the space of two years. In north-west Syria, 49 health facilities had partially or fully suspended their operations by the end of last year. Without additional funding, many more are expected to follow by the end of this month.

In the north-east, the World Health Organization’s referral services for people needing more advanced health support will be suspended at the end of this month. These services have supported 8,000 to 10,000 patients per year – 70 per cent of them women.

Mr. President, we are doing what we can to bridge the gap.

Last month, the UN allocated US$20 million to Syria through the Central Emergency Response Fund’s underfunded emergencies window.

But far, far more is needed in order to meet such massive levels of need and avert even more painful cuts in vital support.

The scarcity of resources only reinforces how critical it is to deliver aid through all available routes.

For the 4.2 million people in need in north-west Syria, the cross-border response from Türkiye continues to play an indispensable role. It allows us to deliver life-saving relief, provide essential protection, health and education services, and conduct regular assessment and monitoring missions to Idleb and northern Aleppo.

The expansion of crossline deliveries throughout Syria, including to the north-west, remains a top priority.

Mr. President, our appeals are familiar.

As the Secretary-General emphasized in his recent statement marking the thirteenth year of the crisis, we need respect for international humanitarian law. This includes the protection of civilians and civilian infrastructure.

We need sustained and unhindered humanitarian access through all modalities.

And we urgently need the necessary funding to sustain life-saving assistance and expand early recovery.

Once again, we call for renewed and genuine commitment to a political solution to end the conflict, in the hope that next year, the people of Syria will have a peaceful Ramadan, with fewer impossible choices to make.

Thank you.