Syria

Syria is currently ranked 151 out of 189 countries in the Human Development Index (HDI), insufficient agricultural production and rising food prices are exacerbating the existing food insecurity problem. An estimated 12.4 million Syrians are now food insecure (that’s more than two thirds of the entire population).

6.7 million people have been internally displaced because of conflict. Feeding children in an often volatile environment is not straight-forward; water sources and electricity supplies are unreliable in the schools we are supporting. 28% of children under five suffer chronic malnutrition.

With so many lives disrupted by years of conflict, attending school is a low priority for many families. Around 25% of primary school-age children are not in education in Syria, representing 523,049 children.

Life in Syria

Syria is located in the Middle East, on the far western edge of south Asia, and is bordered by Turkey, Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon and Israel.

Syria has been plagued by civil war since March, 2011, when a group of 15 school children were arrested and tortured for painting revolutionary slogans on a school wall sparking pro-democracy protests in the country’s southern city of Deraa. The peaceful protests (part of movement called the Arab Spring uprising) saw hundreds of thousands of civilians take to the streets, however violence quickly escalated, as rebel groups and foreign fighters joined together to battle the Assad government and its soldiers for control over Syrian towns and cities. In retaliation to the protests, the Syrian government killed hundreds of demonstrators and imprisoned many more.

Violence in Syria has escalated over the years and the war is still ongoing. Today, most of the country is in ruins and millions of civilians have been displaced, far from their families and livelihoods. Hundreds of thousands are also dead. The Syrian government has regained control of large areas of the country, but rebel groups are still hanging on to pockets of land. Numerous peace talks have been held over the years, but none have been successful.

According to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, more than 606,000 people have lost their lives across Syria since the conflict began in 2011.

Almost 12,000 children were killed or injured between 2011 and 2020, according to UNICEF.

President Assad remains in power in Syria and his regime has the backing of Russia and Iran and Lebanese Shia Islamist political party and militant group, Hezbollah.

The rebel groups continue to fight against Assad’s regime. Many of the groups are small but others have grown in power over the years, joining with other rebel groups that share similar agendas. Following the rise of ISIS, the US offered the rebel groups aid and military equipment to fight against the extremist group.

International powers, such as Russia, Iran, the USA and UK, are central to the ongoing conflict.  The prominence of jihadist group Islamic State changed the narrative of the war as they took advantage of the chaos and fighting to take control. Despite their differences, all sides fought against IS which has now lost almost all its territory but still poses a serious threat to Syria and the wider world.