Rising Humanitarian Needs in Northwest Syria: IOM Appeals for USD 30 Million

Geneva, 10 December 2024 – The International Organization for Migration (IOM) is urgently appealing for USD 30 million to assist almost 700,000 people in Northwest Syria through the winter months, following dramatic events that saw the fall of Bashar Al-Assad’s government in recent days.

Almost 14 years of brutal conflict in Syria have left hundreds of thousands dead and millions of Syrians displaced inside the country or seeking refuge across the world. Rapid developments over the past week have exacerbated humanitarian needs, while bringing a renewed sense of hope.

IOM stands with the Syrian people and will continue to deliver critical aid to displaced communities in Northwest Syria, through the cross-border operation from Türkiye.

“This is a day when Syrians everywhere are finally daring to hope – to be able to rebuild their lives and livelihoods and to look forward to a brighter future for themselves and their families,” said IOM’s Director General Amy Pope. “But more than a decade of war has devastated the country, leaving its people impoverished and scarred, and its infrastructure in ruins. Most Syrians inside the country are dependent on humanitarian aid and needs are increasing with the harsh winter weather. We urgently need to boost our humanitarian response and ensure that the Syrian people are supported at this time of renewed hope and opportunity.”

The funds sought by IOM through this Flash Appeal will be used over the next four months to ensure immediate and continued assistance to the most at-risk and vulnerable groups among those already displaced in Northwest Syria, as well as ensuring support to newly displaced groups. It will complement IOM’s broader 2024 Syrian Arab Republic Crisis Response Plan – which is only 14 per cent funded, the lowest funding since the beginning of the conflict. This is the first phase of IOM’s appeal as it continues to review the evolving situation, including potential shifts in access, which may have an impact on the scope and scale of humanitarian response.

Figures are constantly being updated, and movement trends are being assessed, but up to 1 million people are thought to have been displaced by the most recent fighting. Prior to this week, 3.5 million people were already displaced in Northern Syria, with 4.2 million in need of humanitarian protection and assistance, and 16.7 million in need across the whole country.

Protection needs have increased, with heightened vulnerability of the pre-existing displaced communities and new arrivals. IOM’s flash appeal will support them with essential winter relief supplies, emergency water, sanitation and health services, camp management and camp coordination, emergency shelter and transitional housing solutions, and protection services.

IOM’s cross-border operations from Türkiye into Northwest Syria started in July 2014 in collaboration with local and national partners. The organization works to bring together humanitarian, development and peace interventions, aimed at achieving durable solutions for displaced populations, reducing risks and increasing resilience, and promoting peace and stability.

IOM’s Flash Appeal for Northwest Syria

For more information, please contact:

In Ankara: Miko Alazas, aalazas@iom.int

In Cairo: Joe Lowry, jlowry@iom.int

In Geneva: Kennedy Okoth, kokoth@iom.int