How to Help Syria and Its Children

Syria's children need your help to survive — send them nutrition, water and health care now

Since conflict erupted in Syria in 2011, the children of Syria have been living under the constant threat of violence, deprivation and extreme emotional duress. In 2019, the UN verified 145 attacks on schools and more than 80 on hospitals and medical staff. More than 90 percent of these assaults took place in the northwest, where fighting over control of Idlib province continues to terrorize the region's children. The violence forced 140,000 to flee in the final weeks of 2019 alone.

Displacement has become a way of life for Syria's war-weary people. Each day, nearly 4,500 children are forced to flee their homes, many of whom have already had to abandon their homes multiple times. Nearly 11 million people — more than half the population — require humanitarian assistance, including 5 million children. Homes, schools, hospitals and water treatment facilities have been destroyed. An estimated 2.5 million Syrian children are living as refugees in Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon and Turkey. 

Here's what UNICEF is doing to help: 

UNICEF has been on the ground since the conflict began, leading the way to provide water, nutrition, education and protection to families and children while collaborating closely with partners to meet all the needs of the most vulnerable children. This year, UNICEF will continue providing immediate lifesaving support to children affected by the crisis while building upon the work done in 2019* to ...

• Vaccinate nearly 3.3 million children under age 5 against polio 

• Provide 4.4 million people with improved water supply

• Screen 1.4  million children under age 5 and pregnant and lactating women for acute malnutrition

• Protect nearly 423,000 children from extreme weather by distributing clothing kits and blankets

• Provide more than 1.7 million people with mine risk education

• Provide nearly 1.5 million children with formal education — and their fair chance at a brighter future

• Involve 237,000 adolescents and youth in civic engagement initiatives 

Saja was 12 when she lost her leg in a bomb attack in Eastern Aleppo. Her brother was killed in another attack. Above, she reads from an essay she wrote about her dream of peace for Syria: "I hope that all children who have lost their right to learn will go back to school, especially those who have lost their parents.

For Syria's children, what's at stake isn't politics. It's their future. Without nutrition, health care, clean water, protection and education, they can't possibly survive. Help UNICEF continue to support each and every child.

100% of your gift is tax-deductible.

If you're not able to donate, there are other ways you can help.

*As of November 2019