We have urgently started increasing distributions of aid to Syrian families who have been displaced by ongoing fighting in the Northern governorate of Idlib and aim to reach 25,000 people with emergency help.
Since the beginning of January, more than 100,000 people, most of whom have been repeatedly displaced by conflict, have fled Southern Idlib and Northern Hama, and headed towards safer areas.
These numbers are expected to increase and even double as fighting and airstrikes continue.
CARE’s Country Director for Syria, Wouter Schaap said: “Conditions have worsened dramatically since the beginning of January. Families who were forced to flee their homes – sometimes with nothing but their clothes on their back – are living in temporary shelters and open spaces in freezing conditions with no access to clean water, food, or heating.”
One of the most acute needs is decent shelter, as families are living out in the open, some of them sleeping in the trucks they used to flee and onto which they had packed a few personal belongings, like mattresses or stoves.
One middle-aged man told our teams: “We fled our house at 3am. Now, I’m sitting in my car, without anything: no tent nor shelter. It’s a big tragedy. I had invested all I have in my house and now it’s gone.”
CARE’s teams will distribute blankets and mattresses, food, nappies and other hygiene items, as well as cash to allow people to go to markets and buy what they need most urgently.
Our emergency response teams have been providing aid to families in Syria since 2014 and have reached 2.7 million in need so far.
CARE calls on all parties to the conflict to stop targeting civilians, and allow humanitarian aid to reach them urgently.
Read more and donate to our Syria Crisis Appeal here
