Children stand in the entryway of their tent shelter, in the Bab Al Salame camp for internally displaced persons in Syria

Syria Children's Crisis

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We can't turn away from children in Syria.

Unfortunately, with all the conflict and crises happening in the world right now, the plight of Syrian children isn’t getting the attention it deserves.

Almost 7.5 million kids need humanitarian assistance right now. From clean water, to therapeutic food and medicines, to education – children’s needs are vast.

UNICEF is one of the few aid organisations still working in Syria. We were on the ground long before the conflict started and we’ll continue to be there for kids as long as they need us. However, we do need your help.

If you can help, please make a donation today. Your donation can help desperate Syrian children and save lives.

Nemr, 11 months, is held by his mother while waiting for his turn to be examined at a UNICEF-supported health and nutrition centre in Hama city, Syria. Nemr was diagnosed with acute malnutrition during his first visit.

Nemr (11-months) is held by his mother while waiting for his turn to be examined at a UNICEF-supported health and nutrition centre in Hama city, Syria. Nemr was diagnosed with acute malnutrition during this visit.

Donors are helping save lives in Syria

When baby Nemr got sick, his worried mum took him to a UNICEF-supported health and nutrition centre to get checked out.

The family are struggling to survive in Syria. It’s become even more difficult after last year’s magnitude 7 earthquakes.

“Repairing our house after the earthquake has added a heavy financial burden on our shoulders, and we can’t always provide Nemr with healthy food,” says Nemr's mum.

Unfortunately, Nemr was diagnosed with acute malnutrition which would need specialised treatment to get him healthy again. But thankfully, UNICEF donors have come to the rescue to provide much needed treatment for malnourished kids like Nemr.

To treat his malnutrition, little Nemr was given ready-to-use therapeutic food (RUTF) to eat. This peanut paste is full of all the nutrients, vitamins and proteins that hungry children need to make a speedy recovery from malnutrition.

“I appreciate the food supplements that my son received to treat his malnutrition” says Nemr’s mum gratefully.

So far in 2024, UNICEF donors have helped screen more than 1 million Syrian kids for malnutrition. And provided life-saving treatment for 8,685 (5,098 girls) malnourished kids, like Nemr.

“I want to become a girls’ doctor. I want to wear the white coat and treat girls,” said Hanan at a UNICEF-supported remedial class at a school in Soukari neighbourhood, Aleppo city, Syria.

As well as a nutrition crisis, children in Syria are in a education crisis.

1 in 3 schools are no longer operational, and 2.4 million kids are out of school – that’s more than three times as many school children than we have in New Zealand.

One of the many kids missing out on school was Hanan (above). “I want to become a girls’ doctor” Hanan told us, “I want to wear the white coat and treat girls”.

Fortunately for Hanan, she’s been able to attend UNICEF-supported remedial classes. These important classes are helping fill the education gaps for kids who are missing out on school or who are at risk of dropping out.

Hanan is learning Arabic, science and maths with her friends.

We can’t just standby while the futures of kids like Hanan are on the line. By making a donation today, you can help girls and boys in Syria keep up their schooling and continue on a path to reaching their dreams.

How will my donation help?

Your donation helps our teams on the ground working to distribute life-saving supplies and provide critical services to those most in need. This includes health supplies and medicines, life-saving vaccines, safe drinking water and sanitation, therapeutic food, blankets, clothing and tents.

You're also helping us support safe spaces for children to continue to learn, play and recover from the traumatic events they’ve experienced. 

Your support means we can remain on the ground in Syria, working hard for as long as it takes to ensure children are safe and have their essential needs meet.

Please support us to help as many children as possible in Syria.

Türkiye-Syria Earthquake Emergency, Tala (4) has been sleeping in a car she was so scared the buildings may fall in sport’s city, Lattakia, Syria.

How’s UNICEF been helping kids in Syria?

We've been in Syria since the 1970s and we're not going anywhere. Every day is spent working hard for children affected by this crisis - meeting their immediate needs, as well as focusing on long-term sustainable change to protect their futures.

Here’s a look at UNICEF's work in the first half of 2024:

  • Together with our partners, we supported over 4.6 million people, including 2.7 million children during the last 6 momths.
  • More than 1.1 million children accessed primary healthcare via 86 fixed clinics and 62 mobile teams.
  • We provided solar power to 44 Primary Health Care facilities and sourced 146 solar powered refrigerators for vaccine storage. These will be installed by the end of 2024.
  • We reached 1,132,460 people (487,818 children and 606,358 pregnant and lactating women) with nutrition services.
  • Almost 600,00 children were supported to continue their education. We also rehabilitated and repaired 341 classrooms and provided gender-sensitive and disability-inclusive water, hygiene and sanitation facilities in the rehabilitated schools.
  • We were able to ensure continuous safe water to support more than 14 million people.
  • Improved sanitation services were provided for 485,038 people.
Türkiye-Syria Earthquake Emergency, Wafaa (9) from a school-turned-collective-shelter in Aleppo city, Syria. 

Why donate to UNICEF? 

UNICEF’s work is 100% donor funded. We rely on the generosity of people like you to deliver life-saving help and supplies to kids in 192 countries and territories around the world.  

 

We’ve been on the ground in Syria for more than 50 years. We’re there for children before, during and after emergencies, ready to deliver urgent help where it’s needed most. During this devastating crisis, we’re working around the clock to protect the health and welfare of children. 

 

Every year UNICEF responds to over 300 emergencies around the world. We have a global network of supply hubs - and with your help we can continue to be there for children when they need it most. 

Türkiye-Syria Earthquake Emergency, Fatouma (2) has received a health consultation at a UNICEF-supported mobile clinic in Aleppo, Syria.

Other ways you can donate

If you'd like to donate over the phone, call our friendly team on 0800 243 575. 

If you'd like to donate direct to our bank account, please use account 01-0505-0463764-00 and code 'syrcc-ws'. 

Other ways you can help:

Help us spread awareness of the situation for kids in Syria by sharing this appeal with your friends and family. 

If you'd like to fundraise with your community to support our work, you can start a fundraiser here.

Disclaimer:

In the unlikely event that the funds raised exceed UNICEF’s funding requirements for this appeal, your one off or monthly gift will go to our Greatest Need Appeal.  

Your life-saving monthly donations will support our Syria Children's Crisis for six months. After that they will go into our Global Parent fund to save and protect children worldwide. 

Appeal information updated: 6th September, 2024. 

Donate to this appeal

We’re committed to transparency. To see how we split up expenses and manage our costs, read our annual report or visit UNICEF Open to see a live overview of all our projects.

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UNICEF Aotearoa is a registered charity with the New Zealand Charities Commission (CC35979), making you eligible for a tax refund of up to a third of your donation. All transactions are billed in New Zealand dollars.

UNICEF Aotearoa operates from Level 5, 86 Victoria Street, Wellington 6011, New Zealand.

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