Seven years on, Syria still suffers
DAMASCUS – Seven years of war in Syria have brought intolerable suffering to millions of people. In many parts of the country, the violence has reached unbearable levels and still, there is no political solution in sight. Every day, families under bombardment and shelling face a nightmare without apparent end and every day more innocent lives are lost.
More than a third of Syria’s population is internally displaced as people make desperate attempts to reach safety. With this continuous displacement come alarmingly high levels of hunger and need. Some 6.5 million people in Syria are food insecure and another four million people - twice as many as a year ago - are at risk of becoming so.
“Every day that goes by without a resolution to this crisis is another day where we have failed the people of Syria,” said Jakob Kern, WFP Representative and Country Director in Syria. “The single greatest priority must be an end to this conflict. History will hold us accountable.”
While there are glimmers of hope and many stories of human resilience, fighting continues to rage unabated on multiple fronts: in Eastern Ghouta in Rural Damascus, in the southern governorate of Dara’a, and to the north, in Idlib and Afrin. Civilians bear the heaviest toll.
“We are humans. We are civilians. We do not deserve this. My children are hungry and have no food to eat,” a resident in Eastern Ghouta told WFP during a rare delivery of humanitarian aid in February – rare because the fighting hardly ever lets up long enough for humanitarian convoys to reach the besieged enclave.
Since the conflict started, food prices have soared beyond the reach of many. Bread is now eight times more expensive compared to pre-crisis times. Today, a shocking seven in ten Syrians live in extreme poverty.
WFP adds its voice to the call for peace and urges all parties to the conflict to allow safe, unhindered and unconditional humanitarian access for the delivery of food and other life-saving assistance to those who are so desperately in need.
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WFP is the world's largest humanitarian agency fighting hunger worldwide, delivering food assistance in emergencies and working with communities to improve nutrition and build resilience. Each year, WFP assists some 80 million people in around 80 countries.
How to help Syrian refugee children
By downloading WFP’s mobile app, SharetheMeal, you can help to provide a nutritious meal to Syrian refugee children in Jordan with a tap on your smartphone. Donations start at $0.50, the average cost of providing a WFP meal to a child in need.
The app is downloadable here: http://ow.ly/4Aov30iW5FS
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For more information, please contact (email address: name.lastname@wfp.org):
Marwa Awad, WFP/Damascus, Mob. +963 958 882 900
Dina El-Kassaby, WFP/Cairo, Tel. +2010 15218882
Abeer Etefa, WFP/Cairo, Tel. +2010 66634352