An unprecedented 16.7 million people in Syria need assistance this year, representing over 75% of the population. As humanitarian actors are often the only providers of healthcare, reduced funding means that access to healthcare will be severely limited. Mental health and sexual and reproductive health interventions are particularly at risk.
This year, financial support pledged by the international community at the 8th Brussels Conference has fallen significantly short, amounting to only 18% of the funding required for the Syria Humanitarian Response Plan (HRP). Consequently, humanitarian organizations will be forced to suspend life-saving operations. According to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), only 16.3% of the health needs outlined in the Syria HRP had been funded by the end of the first semester of 2024. The situation remains dire with recent escalations in violence, failing infrastructure, and growing humanitarian needs. OCHA has recently estimated that nearly 160 health facilities, including 46 hospitals, will be forced to suspend operations if no additional funding is secured. By August 2024, up to 200 out of 350 health facilities in north-west Syria will be affected.
