Highlights

• Five years after the start of what many have called the world's worst-ever humanitarian crisis, the situation for Syrians is deteriorating. In 2013, the international community delivered 30 percent less aid than the United Nations requested. By last year, that funding gap escalated to a dangerous 44 percent. 
• This reduction in aid—combined with the exhaustion of resources in neighboring countries that host 4.8 million refugees and the absence of a solid roadmap to peace—have pushed Syrians to extreme measures to survive. 
• Action Against Hunger warns that opening up refugee camps in Turkey will not solve the problem: on the contrary, it will create new "black holes for human rights." 

Today, March 15th, marks five years of conflict in Syria. The needs for food, water, sanitation, shelter, and psychological support remain astounding: more than 18 million Syrians have been affected by the war. An estimated 4.8 million people have fled the violence, seeking safety in neighboring nations as refugees. The remaining 13.5 million face crisis in their home country, under siege.  

"Although media attention is focusing heavily on refugees who have managed to reach Europe, we must not forget that there are 6.5 million Syrians still displaced by an unprecedented emergency within their own country," explained Jean Raphael Poitou, who manages Action Against Hunger's Middle East programs. "We are particularly concerned about the 4.5 million Syrians we cannot reach. Of these, 400,0000 are directly under siege—and that figure has doubled in the past year. Sadly, we have no information to indicate that this trend will reverse itself in the short term."

Syrian children who live as refugees in one of the numerous informal camps in Ghazze, Bekaa Valley, Lebanon. Photo: © Florian Seriex/ACF-2016

Lebanon & Jordan: Host Countries Running on Empty

While Syrian refugees only began arriving in Europe within the past year, nearly five million of them have sought refuge since 2011 in countries closer to home.

"Lebanon today has the largest number of refugees in the world per capita," said Poitou. "The country's health and education systems are collapsing, and the pressure on their natural resources is unsustainable: it is as if the entire population of Portugal had gone to live in Spain. Five years is too long for a small country like Lebanon to support assistance in an emergency of this magnitude. And yet international aid continues to decrease."

The aid requested by the humanitarian community to respond sufficiently to the crisis this year is a breathtaking $7.7 billion. This figure reflects funds requested directly for Syria ($3.2 billion for the Syria Humanitarian Response Plan) and for the region ($4.5 billion for the Syria Regional Refugee and Resilience Plan). To date, only 3 percent of this request for aid has been funded. And last year, only 56 percent of needs were ultimately covered. Six out of nine refugee families in Lebanon and Jordan have high levels of debt. A recent survey found that one in three refugee families has begun to eliminate one of their three minimal daily meals to save money.

Moving Refugees to Turkey Isn't the Solution

The recent decision by European leaders to relocate some refugees to Turkey isn't a viable solution.

"This option not only shows a contempt for the values of solidarity within the European community and upon which international humanitarian law is based—but also shows a total lack of pragmatism. Opening refugee camps without providing a closing date is simply not an option," said Olivier Longuè, Executive Director of Action Against Hunger's headquarter office in Madrid. "It would create new black holes for human rights. We will not be able to contain the human despair if the international community doesn't step up to create real long-term solutions."

Long-term solutions are precisely what Action Against Hunger and our humanitarian partners work to achieve. We will continue to be where the need is greatest in Syria, Jordan, Lebanon, and Iraq to provide nutrition, water, and food security solutions -- along with psychosocial support. Follow the links to read more about  our recent interventions focused on mental health for victims of conflict and on helping Syrian refugees cope with the recent difficult winter.

To hear more of Olivier Longue's thoughts on the Syrian crisis, Action Against Hunger's involvement, and a way forward, please watch the video below.