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Top 10 Facts About Hunger in the Syrian Arab Republic

Top 10 Facts About Hunger in the Syrian Arab Republic
According to the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization, 815 million people are undernourished worldwide. Of these 815 million individuals, 6.5 million (33 percent of the population) are facing food insecurity or lack reliable access to nutritious food in the Syrian Arab Republic.

Since 2011, the Syrian Civil War has caused the country’s starvation rate to double. Although various organizations continue to provide food and aid, militias prevent organizations from reaching those who need it most. Other chief contributors resulting from the war include increasing poverty rates and population displacement. To date, over four million people with over 2 million of them being children, are unable to purchase a sufficient supply of food.

Top 10 Facts about Hunger in the Syrian Arab Republic

  1. Various military actors in the war have purposefully starved Syrian civilians. The effects have disproportionately harmed vulnerable individuals such as children, the elderly and pregnant and breastfeeding women. Since militias have been using aid as a political tool, aid workers find it difficult to provide food for the hungry in conflict zones. In March 2018, Human Appeal, a humanitarian aid charity in the U.K., called on the International Criminal Court to start prosecuting those who deliberately starve civilians.
  2. A lack of security, employment opportunities and basic services have led to the world’s largest displacement crisis. In Syria, 6.3 million people are displaced while 5.3 million have taken refuge in nearby countries. While over 720,000 Syrians have returned, new displacements have arisen in northeast Syria, Hama, Aleppo and Idleb Governorates.
  3. The recent conflict in Syria has damaged the economy and pushed almost seven million people into poverty, according to the U.N. Of Syria’s population, 82.5 percent is below the poverty line while 50 percent is unemployed. Additionally, 40 percent of families report they do not have enough food.
  4. When food does become available, Syrians put themselves at risk when attempting to obtain it. According to the Save the Children Federation, there are various reports of individuals being targeted while shopping at supermarkets and local markets. Amjad, a Syrian resident, said: “The shelling happened every day…it was not always day or night, you never knew when it would happen. The clashes between the armed groups would happen all the time, too; shooting everywhere. It was impossible to go and find food.”
  5. Most food shortages have been caused by a significant increase in food prices. The price of some of the most essential food items has increased by 100 percent in recent years. Many families have become impoverished by conflict and are unable to cope. An estimated 50 percent of households have reduced their intake of daily meals and 30 percent of adults are prioritizing children by limiting their consumption.
  6. Breastfeeding mothers and babies who are not breastfed in Syria do not receive the support necessary to ensure proper nourishment for development. This puts Syrian children at risk of dying from a lack of sufficient nutrients, developing malnutrition and having limited access to medical professionals who are familiar with treating malnutrition. Without nutrients, children are also at a higher risk of getting a disease, especially with Syria’s shortage of clean water.
  7. Prior to the conflict, agriculture was the main sector of Syria’s economy and contributed 18 percent to the GDP. Since the start of the war, agriculture and infrastructure have collapsed, costing over $16 billion in damages and loss. Despite an increase in wheat production and access to farmland, crops fail to sell due to high costs.
  8. The increase in violence, road closures and proliferation checkpoints has hindered humanitarian organizations’ ability to reach various parts of the country. This limits the United Nations to only providing aid in areas not impacted by conflict. Due to these restrictions, only half of 2.4 million civilians in Aleppo, Syria received humanitarian aid in 2013. Additionally, territories controlled by the government do not always allow aid workers to access civilians despite the need.
  9. Rise Against Hunger is an organization that utilizes volunteers in their mission to end world hunger. Volunteers package numerous meals that are packed with nutrients to nourish the world’s hungry. Rise Against Hunger has served and provided the Syrian Arab Republic with almost 550,000 meals.
  10. The World Food Programme (WFP) is responding to Syria’s food crisis in various ways. WFP provides over four million people with monthly food rations and over 900 schools in Syria with nutritious snacks. WFP also offers nutrition support to mothers, breastfeeding mothers and children.

The developing country of the Syrian Arab Republic is still enduring food insecurity and a lack of humanitarian aid. The majority of the population is facing various consequences of the Syrian Civil War, making it difficult to improve their livelihoods and find food. These top 10 facts about hunger in the Syrian Arab Republic highlight the need for crucial humanitarian aid.

– Diane Adame
Photo: Flickr

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Five Ways Foreign Aid Has Improved Health in Syria

Five Ways Foreign Aid Has Improves Health in Syria
Many organizations have contributed to the foreign aid efforts in Syria, and these organizations have not only changed lives, but have contributed to the making of a stronger public health system in several ways. Making health in Syria a priority is the reason why so many people have access to a strengthened healthcare system.

Improved Mortality Rates

According to the National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI), health aid has been instrumental in decreasing several different kinds of mortality rates and improving health in Syria. Data analyzed by the Syrian Ministry of Health indicated that life expectancy at birth, infant mortality rates, maternal mortality and mortality of toddlers under five years old all fell with improvements in health services. The data taken was over a 40-year period from 1970 to 2009. As foreign aid volunteers and organizers continue to improve health services in Syria, these organizations continue to combat mortality rates that would be much higher if not for the efforts of foreign aid organizations.

Investments in Public Health in Syria

Foreign aid investments in health have been important as organizations look to provide people with strong health services. The importance of health investments can be seen by the Syrian government’s increase in investments since 2009. NCBI also cites investment in public health as having increased over the years. According to NCBI, “Total government expenditure on health as a percentage of Gross Domestic Product was 2.9 in 2009.” As of 2014, according to the WHO, average expenditures had risen to 3.2 percent. Although the Syrian government has increased its investments, more money and involvement means stronger health services for those in need.

Access and Availability of Services

As health officials continue to combat dangerous working conditions in Syria, foreign health aid has been a way to improve health in Syria by increasing the access and availability of medical resources. As the number of trained health officials stays steady or increases in Syria, more people can be served. Also, medical professionals with experience in the field can pass on their expertise and train others who either live in Syria or are coming from abroad.

Access to Medical Resources and Organizations

The medical services and analysis provided by foreign aid groups such as the Syrian International Coalition for Health and the World Health Organization (WHO) have been important in saving the lives of people in Syria as well as improving health in Syria overall. Also, medical aid has led to networking and pooling resources, which has slowly worked to improve aid in Syria. A network by the WHO was an important plan with hope for future improvement. According to WHO, a man involved with the Syria Relief and Development program, Dr. Adbul Saleam Daif, said “The network will save resources and time, will serve more patients and expand coverage. We’ll have good quality services.”

Spreading Awareness

As people continue to support foreign aid efforts to improve health in Syria, more people in the general public who are not participating directly in the efforts will become aware of the issue and of the positive effects aid has on public health. Also, more people will be able to contribute to the cause and have a chance to personally influence the lives and health of people in need.

– Gabriella Evans

Photo: Flickr

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The Success of Humanitarian Aid to Syria

The Success of Humanitarian Aid to SyriaGoing into its seventh year, the Syrian civil war has created one of the largest humanitarian crises of our time. With more than 480,000 people killed and 11 million people displaced from their homes, the international community has grappled with the question of how to bring relief to Syrians amid active hostilities and uncertain circumstances.

The scope and complexity of the conflict, along with the government’s restriction on aid to various regions (especially rebel-held territories), have severely limited international organizations’ relief workers and supplies from reaching much of the country.

Once in a while, though, a humanitarian push manages to rise above the proverbial brick wall that is armed conflict to give hope that there can be successes for humanitarian aid to Syria. Such is the case with the education program bringing new opportunities to some of the hardest-to-reach students in the war-torn city of Aleppo.

With increased access to parts of Aleppo, the Syrian Society for Social Development (SSSD) has begun offering free classes and tutoring to students in the city. This comes at a time when 1.75 million school-aged children are out of the classroom and 1.35 million more are at risk of dropping out.

The SSSD provides a variety of programs, including remedial classes for students who have missed school as well as tutoring, education supplies and registration help. Through some of their informal education programs, they facilitate the transition of dropout students back into the critical thinking mindset of learning to eventually return to formal education.

Zooming out of Aleppo to the rest of Syria, the 2017 Humanitarian Response Plan stated that over 1.1 million children were reached through various forms of formal and informal education. These children, along with the 179,118 people who have been reached through women and girls’ empowerment activities, are reason for the hope of continued success of humanitarian aid to Syria.

To get back on its feet economically and promote political stability for the future, Syria cannot afford to lose a generation of educated youths. While the push to get all Syrian children back into school remains an uphill battle in the ongoing conflict, the success of humanitarian aid to Syria gives hope that even the hardest-to-reach students can find their way into the classroom.

– Belén Loza

Photo: Flickr