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On World Humanitarian Day, read Deema’s firsthand account from Ar Raqqa, Syria. A conflict survivor, amputee, and founder of Ukkaz, she is fighting to rebuild lives by supporting children with disabilities and advocating for their rights, inclusion, and access to education and care.

As global headlines focus on soaring oil prices and financial turmoil, there is a risk of overlooking the real human cost of the Middle East conflict – the devastating toll it is taking on children. 

Almost 2 million children have returned to their hometowns in Syria in the past 18 months - the largest voluntary movement of returnees globally - but many find their homes damaged, basic services collapsed and the land contaminated by explosive devices, Save the Children said.

“The emptying of Al-Hol marks the end of a physical site, but not the end of responsibility."

Last week’s escalation forced aid agencies to temporarily suspend regular operations in Al-Hol camp, which is home to just over 24,000 people—mostly women and children—displaced following the collapse of ISIS in 2019.

About 20,000 children in displacement camps and in facilities referred to as “rehabilitation” centres in northeastern Syria are at heightened risk as fighting intensifies and the situation remains fluid, with limited clarity on the security conditions affecting children and families.

Five thousand children are estimated to be among the 10,000 forced from their homes across northeastern Syria in a resurgence of clashes over recent days, Save the Children said.

"In the last 24 hours the number of people forced to flee Aleppo has surged to over 16,000 people - half of these children"

For brothers Osama*, 6, and Yousef*, 10, the day returning home after the end of 14 years of conflict in Syria should have been one of celebration - but instead it was one of tragedy

From safe schools to ending child marriage to cleaning up the oceans, children across the globe used their voices for their rights  

Syrians returning home full of hope in the year since the conflict ended said they are struggling to rebuild their lives amid destroyed infrastructure, limited access to schools and healthcare, and a collapsing economy, Save the Children said.

Save the Children now delivers aid exclusively from inside the country through hubs in Damascus, Aleppo, Raqqa and Qamishli and employs more than 1,050 staff, 96% of whom are Syrian nationals, placing decisions, resources and accountability squarely in Syrian hands. 

Data compiled by a group of humanitarian organisations operating in Syria shows that in nearly half of the country’s districts, more than 50% of children under five with severe acute malnutrition are not receiving the treatment they need. Malnutrition cases in Syria have been rising for years, but funding cuts have exacerbated an already dire situation. 

At least 130 million children across the countries hardest-hit during the pandemic continue to experience school closures due to the climate crises, five years after their schools closed in response to COVID-19.

One in four children who lost their homes in the Türkiye earthquakes two years ago remain in temporary shelters such as shipping containers while access to necessities and services such as education remain a challenge.

As Syria faces a critical turning point with cautious optimism for the future, the needs of children have never been higher with an urgent increase in funding required to meet immediate needs, Save the Children said. 

Save the Children is alarmed by reports that children have been killed and displaced in the latest escalation of violence in northwestern Syria.
 

“Children are paying the highest price for the ongoing conflict in Syria"

A further decrease in funding from the international community for Syria and the region following the eighth annual Brussels Conference will exacerbat

Joint statement with SIRF on "An increasing number of attacks in Syria threatening to further deteriorate the already dire humanitarian situation"

Almost 50% fewer foreign children and women have been repatriated so far this year in syria