Since the start of the Syrian civil war in 2011, the children of Syria have been living under the constant threat of violence, deprivation and extreme emotional duress.
Homes, schools, hospitals and water treatment facilities have been destroyed. Basic food items are priced over 20 times higher, on average, than they were in 2010.
Schools and hospitals remain under attack. Millions of children and families have been uprooted by violence. Millions of children have been living as refugees in Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon and Turkey for years. For those who remain inside the country, displacement has become a way of life.
The socio-economic impacts of COVID-19 created a crisis on top of a crisis, further eroding access to essential services and hitting children and families extremely hard.
More than half the population — over 11 million people, including 6.1 million children — require humanitarian assistance. The scale, severity and complexity of their needs are extensive.
UNICEF has been on the ground since the conflict began, collaborating with partners to provide conflict and disaster-affected children with health, nutrition, water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH), education and protection services.
UNICEF continues to deliver for children and families with the greatest needs, focusing on:
Seven-year-old Kinda (above, far left) and her siblings have grown up amid violence, displacement and loss. In rural Aleppo, they are picking up the pieces of their lives — catching up on their learning at a UNICEF-supported school, receiving psychosocial support and education in the dangers of land mines.
Help UNICEF support vulnerable children in Syria.