Syria: 81% of displaced need emergency food aid

At the end of December, Caritas Luxembourg had reported on the dramatic situation in Syria. Intensified air strikes and bombing and renewed ground fighting along the front lines south of Idleb have forced more than 350,000 people to flee the Ma'arrat An Nu'man region to the north. The Ma'arrat An Nu'man area is now nearly depopulated. Thousands more people in the area east of Saraqab have also fled their villages for fear of being bombed. These days, the villagers west of Aleppo have to flee as well.

All these people have moved to the areas north-west of Idlib, which are already very saturated. Caritas Luxembourg and its local partner are on the spot to help all these people. They are being registered and are receiving first emergency aid in the form of shelters, food, hygiene kits, stoves, latrines, etc.

At the end of December, a survey of 1,562 displaced families was carried out on their situation and needs.

The results show the urgency of the situation:

77% of the families questioned have moved at least twice since they left their village. They were on the road for an average of 13 days and have only been in their current location for 10 days. Children represent 39% of the displaced. Children are particularly affected. 45% of families have found refuge in ruins or unfinished houses, 33% in newly created camps, 12% are in open fields and 10% in collective shelters. For 81% of them the main need at the moment is to be able to feed themselves and their children.

Caritas Luxembourg and its local partner distribute meals twice a day to more than 20,000 displaced people on a daily basis. Cooking material and food baskets are also distributed.  In the past weeks, more than 50 emergency latrines have been set up for almost 1300 displaced people. More than 1,700 people have benefited from shelter repairs. Finally, nearly 500 people have been provided with shelters and more than 2,000 people have received emergency shelter kits. However, the needs remain enormous.