When fighting intensified near her neighbourhood in Aleppo, in northern Syria, Fatima and her family had to run. Now eight months pregnant and sheltering in a makeshift camp, the mother of three said her biggest fear isn’t the biting cold – it’s what will happen if she goes into labour.
“I worry about my health, but I worry more about where to go if something happens,” she confided. “Displacement is not just losing your home. It’s losing your privacy, your safety and access to healthcare, especially as a woman.”
Fatima is one of tens of thousands of women and girls affected by the recent violence and insecurity around Aleppo, which has forced large numbers of people to flee, disrupted essential services and shut down hospitals.
“We fled under bombardment, with nothing but our fear,” Farida, 39, told UNFPA, the United Nations Population Fund, which is the UN’s sexual and reproductive health agency.
“Every step we took felt like it could be our last.”
UNFPA and its partners have deployed mobile health teams to reach displaced people with sexual and reproductive health services, dignity kits containing essential hygiene items, and psychosocial counselling. The teams are also referring displaced people to a broader network of humanitarian assistance, as people struggle to find a safe haven for themselves and their families.
In Aleppo, some 58,000 people are still displaced following recent clashes between the Security Forces of the transition Government and the Kurdish Syrian Democratic Forces. Insecurity has also now spread to surrounding areas, including Ar-Raqqa and Deir-ez-Zor Governorates. With transport and public services disrupted, it is even harder for those trying to escape the violence to access critical health support.
Winter conditions have only deepened the suffering: Thousands are now enduring freezing temperatures, sheltering in makeshift camps, former schools and unfinished buildings across northern and northeastern Syria.
Ruhan, a mother of three from Aleppo, fled with only what she could carry. “The cold is unbearable. My biggest fear is keeping my children warm and safe,” she told UNFPA, which provided her with reproductive health services, counselling and a dignity kit.
