Ramesh Rajasingham, Director of the Coordination Division at the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), told the Security Council that the Syrian crisis is not static, as developments on the ground continue to exacerbate needs. He noted that clashes earlier this month in parts of Aleppo governorate caused civilian casualties and displaced families.

Rajasingham, speaking on Thursday, 23 October on behalf of the Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, Tom Fletcher, said the fragile security situation in Suwayda has led to shortages of essential goods such as fuel and bread, higher prices, and disruptions to vital services, including health care and water.

He pointed out that unexploded ordnance remains a lethal threat. Sixteen incidents were recorded last week alone, killing three people and injuring 19 others, including six children. Since December 2024, more than 550 people have been killed and over 800 injured by such incidents, one third of them children.

A historic drought also sparked wildfires last month in Latakia, Tartus, and Homs, affecting more than 5,000 people, displacing dozens of families, and damaging farmland.

Some seven million people remain internally displaced inside Syria, including 1.3 million living in camps or camp-like settings. Meanwhile, 2.4 million children are out of school, and another one million are at risk of dropping out, with one third of schools unusable due to damage or use as shelters, according to Rajasingham.

He added that Syria continues to face one of the world’s largest humanitarian crises, with more than 70% of the population in need of assistance at a time when funding levels have fallen to their lowest in years.

Despite these challenges, Rajasingham said the UN and its partners have managed to reach 3.4 million people per month since the start of the year, a 25% increase over last year, benefiting from improved humanitarian access.

In Suwayda and neighboring areas, dozens of aid convoys have been organized in cooperation with the Syrian Arab Red Crescent to deliver blankets, mattresses, and medical, educational, and food supplies to around 424,000 people monthly since July.

The World Food Program (WFP) has continued distributing hundreds of tons of flour to bakeries in Suwayda, Daraa, and Rural Damascus, supporting a subsidized bread program for around two million people per month.

In areas affected by the fires, the UN led multi-agency assessments to secure food, water, fuel, and health services for those impacted, in cooperation with the Red Crescent and Syria’s Ministry of Emergency Management.

UNICEF launched a Back to Learning campaign with the Ministry of Education to rehabilitate schools and support children at risk of dropping out.

On funding, Rajasingham noted that the Syria Humanitarian Fund and the Cross-Border Humanitarian Fund, both managed by OCHA, have allocated about 84 million US dollars this year for critical projects, including water and sanitation services in al-Hol camp (Hasakah, northeastern Syria), mine action in rural Aleppo, and solar power for water projects, with 63% of the funding going to local partners.

He thanked donor countries supporting the two funds, led by the Netherlands, Canada, and the United Kingdom, and explained that aid deliveries from Turkey are continuing with Syrian government approval, with more than 300 trucks entering each month through this route.

He also noted that WFP has begun a food security assessment in cooperation with Syria’s Planning and Statistics Authority to identify priority needs in the coming phase.

Rajasingham stressed that improving the humanitarian situation in Syria requires three essentials:

• De-escalation and prevention of renewed violence.
• Increased funding for the humanitarian response.
• Investment in recovery and reconstruction projects.

He explained that the 2025 Humanitarian Response Plan for Syria is only 19% funded, leading to the suspension of water trucking for displaced people in Raqqa and the possible suspension in Hasakah next month. WFP has warned it may have to reduce assistance by January if funding does not materialize.

He added that more than 340 health facilities have halted services, limiting access to treatment and medicines for over seven million people, alongside the closure of 45 centers providing support to survivors of gender-based violence.

Rajasingham concluded by noting that more than one million refugees have returned to Syria since December 2024, in addition to 1.9 million internally displaced people who have gone back to their areas. They still require real investments in basic services and shelter to make returns sustainable. He emphasized that a path to Syrian recovery is possible, but it requires genuine international will and a continued flow of humanitarian aid during the transitional period.

Warning of worsening conditions for the displaced

The Syria Response Coordinators team warned of deteriorating humanitarian conditions in camps in northwestern Syria as winter approaches, amid families’ severe inability to secure heating materials and shrinking humanitarian support.

In a statement posted on Facebook on Thursday, 23 October, the team said more than 1.5 million civilians still live in camps, or 75.18% of the previous total, despite returns to towns and villages, due to widespread destruction in residential areas and displaced people’s inability to repair their homes.

The statement noted that more than 95% of families are unable to secure heating materials for the coming winter, while 83% of displaced people last winter received no heating supplies, especially those in camps.

Falling temperatures last winter led to widespread disease among the displaced, in addition to fires caused by the use of unsafe heating materials.

In the same season, rain and snowstorms damaged 357 camps, affecting more than 115,000 civilians, according to the team.

The statement added that 71% of the displaced plan to cut their basic needs, particularly food, in an attempt to afford heating this year, amid extensive interruptions in humanitarian aid.

It also pointed out that prices of heating materials have risen compared with last year, while 88% of families have monthly incomes not exceeding 50 US dollars, making fuel or firewood nearly impossible to obtain.

The team called on humanitarian organizations and the United Nations to quickly launch winterization projects and bridge major funding gaps to provide support to more than 1.5 million civilians facing harsh conditions in camps in northwestern Syria.