After more than 14 years of war, in December 2024 the government of former Syrian leader Bashar Al al-Assad fell, leaving large-scale destruction, massive displacement, economic hardship, and a lack of basic services, including health care.
A year later, the humanitarian crisis in Syria persists. Health care access is not reliable and the gap between humanitarian needs and the amount of funding available continues to grow. Millions of Syrians are still extreme vulnerable.
Since the beginning of 2025, Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) has been planning how to best meet people’s needs in areas where our teams were unable to work under the previous government, including major cities and under-served rural regions. Here, we take a look at the current situation in Syria and the most pressing needs.
The humanitarian crisis in Syria remains dire, with millions of people still living in extreme vulnerability. Despite the political shift, health care, infrastructure, and basic services remain severely disrupted from the past 14 years of intense war and ongoing instability.
The gap between urgent humanitarian needs and the amount of investment required from humanitarian donors to address them is wide, and millions of Syrians continue to face displacement, vulnerability, and economic challenges.
As of December 2025, MSF is still providing essential medical services across 12 governorates, but the needs are growing, especially regarding access to basic services like water and sanitation.
