Syrian Arab Republic: Cross-Border Humanitarian Reach and Activities from Türkiye (May 2023) – Syrian Arab Republic

August 11, 2023 admin-dominor

CONTEXT

The start of May marks three months since the earthquake first struck Türkiye and Syria. The situation remains dire in north-west Syria where 90 per cent of the 4.5 million population rely on humanitarian assistance. 1.9 million people live in camps or informal settlements, 80 per cent of whom are women and children. In the aftermath of the earthquakes, more than 10,600 buildings were partially or fully damaged including over 1,000 schools. At least 53,000 families who have been displaced after the earthquakes are in need of dignified shelters. Active hostilities including shelling and airstrikes continued to be recorded against this backdrop.

The UN and its partners are addressing humanitarian needs in north-west Syria, driven by 12 years of conflict and the impacts of the earthquakes, through humanitarian and early recovery interventions. Multi-purpose cash support remains a priority in the response with over half a million people (574,595 people) reached with multi-purpose cash, valued at $18.3 million, by May 25. On May 22, the Syria Cross-border Humanitarian Fund (SCHF) launched the second phase of its Reserve Allocation valued at some $60 million to address longer-term needs following the earthquakes.

The UN cross-border aid operation continued without impediment in May. As of 31 May, 2,397 trucks loaded with UN aid have crossed from Türkiye to north-west Syria using three border-crossing since the earthquakes struck. As of the same date, the UN has also completed 116 cross-border missions to north-west Syria. Nearly half of there were for the purpose of programme monitoring.