Crisis in Syria

1.4 million refugees have now fled violence in Syria and are in desperate need of shelter, food and water. Over half of them are children.

The crisis is set to escalate, but our resources are stretched to breaking point. Any donation, no matter how small, will help us support more families caught up in this crisis.

The situation

Fighting continues to escalate across northern Syria and its western border. With growing numbers of people fleeing the conflict in Syria, the situation has become critical. Aid agencies and host countries have almost reached their capacity to cope with recent surges.

• The UN estimates that almost 7 million Syrians inside of Syria are in need of assistance, including 4.25 million internally displaced.
• Thousands are continuing to flee Syria daily.
• The total number of refugees in neighboring countries is now more than 1.4 million.
• It is estimated that the population of Lebanon has increased by 10% and the population of Jordan by 6%. This is putting extreme pressure on local infrastructure.

Additionally, according to the UN refugee agency, UNHCR, the majority of Syrian refugees in Jordan live in urban areas, outside of formal camp settings. This makes it harder for them to access vital help.

What Oxfam is doing

We aim to reach 650,000 people in Lebanon, Jordan and Syria with emergency relief in the next 12 months.

In Lebanon, Oxfam is helping Palestinian refugees arriving from Syria and Syrian refugees who have fled the violence in their country. Since rental prices are soaring, we're providing vulnerable families with cash to help them afford safe housing, and also buy the basic needs for their families. We're also planning to construct latrines and ensure people have access to safe sources of drinking water. 

Early in the year, we and our local partners have been distributing warm clothes, mattresses, blankets, heaters, rugs, kitchen utensils, hygiene kits and plastic sheets for weather proofing.

In Jordan, we're working in Za'atari refugee camp - providing people with access to water and sanitation, and coordinating hygiene training to prevent the spread of life-threatening diseases. We have currently reached some 20.000 Syrian refugees with emergency latrines and will soon complete shower, toilet and laundry blocks to reach 8.000

We also work to help the vulnerable refugees who are living outside the camp and in host communities over the next few months, and aim to support people with cash for rental support and basic needs, as well as improving access to safe water and public health monitoring. 

We are not present inside Syria however we are committed to providing assistance inside Syria in the areas with the greatest humanitarian needs. In the absence of official authorization to work in Syria, we are actively exploring ways to address urgent humanitarian needs and trying to gain access to people in need in Syria through the United Nations and official channels. Currently, there are serious access and security challenges to working in Syria, so our entry would need to be well planned and coordinated. 

Updated 07 May 2013.

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