The Needs for Humanitarian Assistance to Syria

Humanitarian assistance to Syria does not reflect the real need of the Syrian people. Access to Syria is very limited, however, the Syrian Red Crescent Society (the organization that has permission to work in Syria during the revolution) needs to strengthen and expand the coverage of the support to address the humanitarian needs. It is clear also that NGOs cannot provide humanitarian assistance inside Syria until the Government of Syria allows access for SRCS’s volunteers and capacity to be used to channel the humanitarian assistance.

The humanitarian assistance faces many challenges:

- Information insufficient and conflicting: there is disagreement about numbers of those in need and their conditions.

- The situation is very fluid. People across Syria are potentially at risk as areas impacted most acutely by ongoing fighting and internal displacement shift and change. The situation will become worse as sanctions have an effect on the economy and as the security situation deteriorating very fast.

Needs identified (in priority): protection, health (with restricted access to medical assistance for injured protestors) and referral of patients with chronic diseases to specialized private hospitals, shelter, food, cash for food, psychological support, education, coordination capacity building and restoring family ties. It is expected that the needs will increase along the new displacement. The most affected groups are detainees, those seeking medical care, internally displaced persons (particularly children), and those crossing borders. Syria’s traditional food self-sufficiency has been impacted by drought and poor water management and agricultural policies.

Actions needed:

- Review of the current humanitarian situation and elaborate a well coordinated inclusive plan of action for the future.

- Develop a needs assessment and explore how to deliver it, and disseminate the findings

- The need for advocacy and demand for the international assistance system to be allowed to operate in Syria (this needs lot of pressure from the Syrian opposition), to allow UN Agencies and International Humanitarian Agencies to work in Syria, more specifically the International Red Cross Organization.

- Facilitate establishing a network for fundraising, delivery of assistance based on universal humanitarian principles and independence.

- Encourage and support the Arab humanitarian community to respond to humanitarian crisis in Syria.

- Build the capacity of local NGOs, local coordination committees and communities. This is necessary given their connections (and access, in some cases) and that their experience in delivering humanitarian assistance.

- Improving existing humanitarian cooperation and humanitarian delivery for the sake of the needy people (local NGO’s and solidarity groups and community support).

- Develop a transparent, accessible, coordinated and effective delivery of assistance plan in line with the priorities that will be identified by the needs assessment.

Difficulties to provide humanitarian assistance include: Protection, access, safety; corruption, lack of NGOs in Syria with solid humanitarian experience; politicization of NGOs.

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