Syrian Arab Republic - 1.1 Humanitarian Background | Digital Logistics Capacity Assessments

Disasters, Conflicts and Migration

Natural Disasters
Type	Occurs	Comments / Details
Drought	Yes	Syria experiences a largely Mediterranean climate. Summers are usually very dry with high evaporation rates. In most parts of the country, summer temperatures tend to exceed 30°C. During the winter, temperatures are moderate to cold. Temperatures are influenced and moderated by proximity to the sea and elevation. The annual average temperature is 18.1°C on the coastal plain and 15.2°C in the mountains. The World Meteorological Organisation (WMO) seasonal outlook for Syria indicates that a severe and long-term drought is affecting Syria. Water deficits have been exacerbated by unusual dry conditions during the wet season, but also by abnormally high air temperatures, which are forecast to continue into the July–September hot and dry season. The multi-year drought and the scarcity and high cost of water, food, and energy are mutually reinforcing and are underpinning Syria’s food security crisis. In 2021 -2022 a Severe drought is reported in many regions after successive months of failed rainfall. Water deficits have been exacerbated due to drier than average conditions in the 2020/21 and 2021/22 wet seasons, but also by increasing evaporative demand associated with above-normal air temperatures during the July-September hot and dry season.
Earthquakes	Yes	A 7.8 Richter magnitude earthquake hit Türkiye and Syria on 6 February 2023. Aftershocks followed and a second major earthquake of 7.5 Richter magnitude hit the region on the same day. The earthquakes that struck Türkiye and Syria caused one of the biggest disasters to impact the region in recent times. Tens of thousands of people have been killed and many more have been injured. Thousands of buildings have collapsed, leaving countless people exposed to unforgiving winter conditions. Schools and hospitals have been destroyed. The earthquakes struck as the humanitarian crisis in northwest Syria was already at the highest level since the conflict began, with 4.1 million people relying on humanitarian assistance to subsist.
Epidemics	Yes	COVID 19 The COVID-19 pandemic in Syria is part of the ongoing pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The disease was confirmed to have reached Syria on 22 March 2020, when the first case was confirmed of a person who came from abroad. Syria is considered especially vulnerable to the pandemic due to the ongoing civil war and dire humanitarian situation As per WHO dashboard In Syrian Arab Republic, from 3 January 2020 to 31 May 2023, there have been 57,423 confirmed cases of COVID-19 with  3,163 deaths reported to WHO. 5,090,630 vaccine doses have been administered. Cholera Between 25 August and 15 February, 92,649 suspected cases have been reported from all 14 governorates, including 101 associated deaths to date at a case fatality rate of 0.11%. The most affected governorates to date are Idleb (27,863 cases, 30%), Aleppo (22,123 cases, 23.9%), Deir Ez-Zor (20,671 cases, 22.3%), and Raqqa (17,578 cases, 19%). The devastating earthquake had a significant impact on the cholera response operations. The earthquake affected access to services, reduced partner capacity, diverted already limited funds available, and affected negatively the mental health of the workforce. So far, a total of 171 ( 54 in Latakia, 48 in Hama, 14 in Aleppo, and 55 in NWS)– are reportedly damaged, including at least seven hospitals, with assessments ongoing. 15 health facilities had to suspend their operations, and 18 health facilities have reduced functionality due to earthquake damage Thousands of people are currently housed in overcrowded collective shelters, many without adequate access to sufficient safe water, sanitation, and hygiene measures. Temporary disruption of infectious disease surveillance systems and laboratory capacity across affected areas. The Risk of increase of waterborne diseases including Cholera is very high due to over-crowded settings, extensive damage to water and sanitation infrastructure, and damage and disruption to cholera treatment infrastructure. Case Fatality (CFR) 0.11% Grade 2 Suspected Cases 92,649 Positive Cases NA Cholera Sus. Deaths 101 Affected Governorates 14 Overall Attack Rate 0.44% (Source CHOLERA OUTBREAK SITUATION REPORT NO.13)
Extreme Temperatures		Climate in Syria is mostly desert; hot, dry, sunny summers (June to August) and mild, rainy winters (December to February) along coast; cold weather with snow or sleet periodically in Damascus.
Flooding	Yes	Flood Incidents Affected 57 IDP Sites In Northwest Syria, rainstorms hit IDPs camps in Idleb and Aleppo governorates for two days (18-19 March 2023), causing flood incidents in 57 IDPs sites. No deaths and injuries were reported, 587 tents and rooms were destroyed, and 1,646 tents and rooms have also been damaged Source (ACU_NWS_Flash_Flood_Incident_Report_21032023 (2).pdf)
Insect Infestation	No
Mudslides	No
Volcanic Eruptions	No
High Waves / Surges	No
Wildfires	Yes	Between 8 and 12 October 2020, the eastern basin of the Mediterranean Sea has witnessed mass-destructive wildfires which are becoming a recurring annual event due to climate change. While possible causes of these wildfires vary, enabling elements including high temperatures, the warm eastern winds that are active during this time of year, dried herbs and bushes, and low humid trees, coming together to cause massive wildfires devouring acres of lands beyond rapid control of overwhelmed local capacities. One of the hardest-hit countries was Syria, where wildfires killed four people and left around 45 injured with breathing complications and skin burns. Wildfires were reported in 265 villages in Lattakia, Tartous, and Homs governorates with around 50 and 60 main fire points, and tens of other locations were also affected. A total of 300 fire points and villages of varying damage were reported. Most of the rugged mountainous areas were obliterated in the western countryside of Homs province, the eastern countryside of Tartus, and the northern countryside of Lattakia. These fires caused material and environmental damage, burning homes of residents, agricultural crops, large parts of vegetation, forests, and nature reserves. In addition to that, it is estimated that the wildfire incidents burned more than 30,000 hectares of agricultural and forest land across the coastal region of Syria, affecting at least 27,000 families through the destruction and damage to homes and livelihoods assets, loss of power and water supply. It had a serious impact on some families, infrastructure and 2,765 families lost more than one source of their livelihoods. The fires led to the temporary displacement of several people of some villages to neighbouring areas, especially in Lattakia's countryside, as populated areas were surrounded by the fires. The displacement continued for a couple of days at the beginning of the emergency. Source (MDRSY005dfr.pdf)
High Winds		Most of drought areas in the Northern Eastern part of Syria are vulnerable to wind and sandstorms. The last one too place in Deir Ezzour in 2022.
Other Comments
Man-Made Issues
Civil Strife	Yes	The Syrian civil war is an ongoing multi-sided civil war in Syria fought between the Syrian Arab Republic government (supported by domestic and foreign allies) and various domestic and foreign forces that oppose both the Syrian government and each other, in varying combinations. Unrest in Syria began on 15 March 2011 as part of the wider 2011 Arab Spring protests out of discontent with the Syrian government, eventually escalating to an armed conflict after protests calling for the president removal were violently suppressed. The war is currently being fought by several factions. The Syrian Armed Forces and its domestic and international allies represent the Syrian Arab Republic and the Syrian government. Opposed to it is the Syrian Interim Government, a big-tent alliance of pro-democratic, nationalist opposition groups (whose defence forces consist of the Syrian National Army and the Free Syrian Army). Another faction is the Syrian Salvation Government, a coalition of Sunni Islamist rebel groups headed by Tahrir al-Sham. Independent of all of them is the de facto autonomous territory of Rojava, whose armed wing is the mixed Kurdish-Arab Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF). Other competing factions include Salafi Jihadist organisations such as the Al-Qaeda-affiliated Al-Nusra Front and the Islamic State (ISIS/ISIL). The peak of the war was during 2012–2017; violence in the country has since diminished, but the situation remains a crisis Source (Syrian civil war - Wikipedia)
International Conflict
Internally Displaced Persons	Yes	The decade-long crisis in Syria continues to affect millions of lives. According to the 2023 Humanitarian Needs Overview, there are an estimated 6.7 million people internally displaced across the country.
Refugees Present		Whilst forcibly displaced Syrians are found in over 125 countries, more than 6.8 million Syrian refugees fled to the five neighbouring countries – Türkiye, Lebanon, Jordan, Iraq and Egypt. Over 47% are children and some 48% of refugees within the region are female. (Source3rpsyriacrisis.org/wpcontent/uploads/2023/02/RSO2023.pdf)
Landmines / UXO Present
Other Comments

For a more detailed database on disasters by country, please see the Centre for Research on Epidemiology of Disasters Country Profile.

Seasonal Effects on Logistics Capacities

Seasonal Effects on Transport
Transport Type	Time Frame	Comments / Details
Primary Road Transport	From Dec to Jan	The primary mountains roads gets closed due to sever weather conditions (snow) for limited time (1 to 2 days) probably in Jan (snow season)
Secondary Road Transport	From Dec to Jan	The secondary mountains roads gets closed due to severe weather conditions (snow) for limited time (max 1 week) probably in Jan (snow season).
Rail Transport		NA
Air Transport		NA
Waterway Transport		NA

Seasonal Effects on Storage and Handling
Activity Type	Time Frame	Comments / Details
Storage	NA	NA
Handling	NA	NA
Other	NA	NA

Capacity and Contacts for In-Country Emergency Response

GOVERNMENT

The Civil Defence Agency, with a total staff of 4,000, is decentralized to the Governorate level covering the 14 Governorates within Syria where 3,000 of the staff are currently deployed. For emergencies, an Emergency Operations Centre (EOC) exists in Damascus, which is linked to the Governorates via wireless equipment.

Governmental Institutional Arrangements and Coordination

The institutional arrangements surrounding disaster reduction activities in Syria are set within a complex web of committees, councils and institutions with the most active council being the Highest Council for Civil Defence. The only operational agency within this structure is the Civil Defence Agency, which maintains the traditional disaster preparedness and response mandate and falls under the aegis of the Ministry of Local Administration and Environment (The Civil Defence Agency falls under the aegis of the Ministry of Defence).

The Civil Defence Department has a centralized National Plan which has yet to be tested in recent years. The Civil Defence, the Fire Departments and the Police Department are the three main national institutions involved in Syria’s disaster response effort. These institutions are all decentralized, down to the Governorate level, and form part of the Local Committee for Disaster Management within the 14 Governorates

The Civil Defence Agency is more operationally linked with the Ministry of Defence than the Ministry of Local Administration and Environment (MoLAE). This agency is primarily concerned with disaster response.

Government has a considerable number of different types of aircrafts and helicopters likely to be available to transport personnel and relief supplies.

Since the beginning of the Syrian crisis in 2011, the Government of Syria put in place an intricate coordination system in charge of overseeing the humanitarian response and disaster management through the Higher Relief Committee chaired by the Minister of Local Administration and Environment (MoLAE). The GoS Higher Relief Committee (HRC) is a national planning and coordination body established by the office of the Prime Minister. It is the most senior governmental entity overseeing the humanitarian response in terms of setting strategic plans, high-level intra-governmental cooperation, and governmental-international cooperation and leading the rehabilitation or “reconstruction” efforts.

The committee, as indicated above, is headed by the minister of local administration, its membership includes ministerial-level representation of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates and technical ministries such as the Ministry of Social Affairs and Labor, the Ministry of Education, the Ministry of Health, the Ministry of Water Resources, etc. State security apparatuses are also influential members of the committee, including the national security branch. Further, SARC and the Syria Trust (ST) are active members of the HRC.

The HRC supervises the work of sub-national relief committees established on the Governorate level and headed by Governors.

Often, HCT members' engagement with the HRC is channelled through MoLAE or MoFAE.

During the earthquake response, the HRC and sub-relief committees supervised the work of operation rooms established by the GoS.

HUMANITARIAN COMMUNITY

In support of and in coordination with national and sub-national authorities, the Syria Humanitarian Country Team (HCT), which held its first meeting in Syria in 2013, under the leadership of the Humanitarian Coordinator (HC), works to ensure that humanitarian action in the country is principled, timely, effective, concerted, and efficient, and designed to contribute to long-term recovery.

In line with the Inter-Agency Standing Committee’s (IASC’s) Transformative Agenda, the Inter-Sector Coordination Group (ISCG) for Syria is established by the HC for Syria and chaired by OCHA.

The purpose of the Syria ISCG is to ensure coherence and collaboration across sectors operating inside Syria, including in the event of a natural disaster, including the sub-national sectors activated in the field, to ensure an effective and timely humanitarian response to people in need, contribute to / guide implementation of resilience focused programming / early recovery interventions as well as, to inform discussions and decisions made by the Syria HCT.

Composition of Cluster/Sector

UNRWA will retain primary responsibility for Palestinian refugee populations directed to UNRWA facilities by government of Syria .
UNHCR is the cluster lead agency for:
Shelter and Non-Food Items Sector.
Protection Sector.
WHO is the cluster lead agency for the Health Sector.
UNFPA is the cluster lead agency for the Gender-Based Violence Area of Responsibility.
UNMAS is the cluster lead agency for the Mine Action Area of Responsibility.
WFP is the cluster lead agency for:
Logistics Cluster.
Emergency Telecommunication Cluster.
Co-lead of the Food Security and Agriculture Sector.
FAO is the co-lead of the Food Security and Agriculture Sector.
UNICEF is the cluster lead agency for:
WASH Sector.
Nutrition Sector.
Education Sector
Child Protection AoR.
UNDP is the cluster lead agency for the Early Recovery and Livelihoods Sector.

UNDAF Process
Prior to the crisis, the UNCT was largely engaged in development programming. The first UNDAF, for 2007-2011, was aligned with Syria’s 10th Five Year National Plan (FYNP), with focus shifting in 2010 to upstream policy advice in areas such as food security, health, waste management, youth development, violence against women, and e-governance and commerce. In 2011, the Government had prepared its 11th FYNP, against which the UNCT planned to align a second UNDAF, for the period 2012-2016. At the outbreak of the Syrian crisis in 2011, the UNCT re-prioritized projects and programmes in response to evolving humanitarian needs. UN humanitarian interventions were scaled up with emphasis on medical and obstetric care, food assistance and other lifesaving interventions. During the same period, the Office of the Special Envoy has sought to assist Syria in finding a political resolution to the crisis. Since the onset of the crisis the 2007-2011 UNDAF has been extended year-by-year. It has been agreed that 2015 will be the final extension year, and that a new Strategic Framework for 2016-2017 will provide interim support to needed capacity building, basic services and early recovery, livelihoods and resilience, building on humanitarian gains and providing for longer-term needs.
In early 2015, as a result of ongoing discussions between the UNCT and Government, the Government of Syria set out its views on the nature and methodology of a possible plan for cooperation with the United Nations around resilience and targeted development in response to prevailing conditions. The Government suggested targeted implementation in specific geographic locations with the aim of enhancing sustainable livelihoods, rehabilitating basic service systems for citizens, and supporting the revival of economic activity to reduce dependency and enhance livelihoods and living standards. The proposal envisioned a participatory approach in identifying the areas to be targeted and joint assessments of needs involving international organizations, the Government and beneficiaries. It called for a livelihoods approach, participatory evaluations of the programme and its impact on targeted groups, and potential expansion upon successful implementation. In response to the proposals of Government, the UNCT held a strategic planning retreat in January 2015, and agreed to develop a framework strategy to replace the UNDAF.
Since the development of the 2016-2017 Strategic Framework in 2015, the country context has seen considerable changes although the repercussions of the last ten years are still ongoing and humanitarian needs remain significant. In order to bring UN programming in line with these developments, the Government of the Syrian Arab Republic agreed with the Syria UN Country Team to formulate a new Strategic Framework (SF) for the period 2022- 2024. The scope of this document is limited to provide a multiyear socio-economic programming framework for the UN Country Team that focuses primarily on people’s and communities’ resilience, basic livelihoods, and early recovery activities, such as the ones recognized in the UN Security Council Resolution 2585, that complements the UN’s humanitarian response, including activities conducted under the Humanitarian Response Plan’s third strategic objective on increased resilience and access to basic services. While the latter has an annual planning cycle and focuses on emergency measures to improve communities’ short-term coping mechanisms, including through emergency livelihoods and small-scale local rehabilitation of civilian humanitarian infrastructures to access essential services, further efforts are required to diminish vulnerable Syrians’ dependence on humanitarian aid and to support endogenous community recovery processes. Therefore, the SF presents multi-year programming that allows reap the rewards of downstream capacity building and promote more sustainable livelihoods for certain individuals/communities through area-based interventions. UN principles of human rights-based and context sensitive approach to programming, including participation, local ownership, and sustainability will be the basis for the UN strategies and approaches. In this way, UN assistance will leverage the gains of early recovery to enhance community resilience and provide more dignified opportunities to individuals and their families. In sum, the largest part of the UN work in Syria will still focus on responding to the humanitarian crisis under the HRP, while the Strategic Framework will focus on multi-year resilience and early recovery activities.

https://syria.un.org/en/about/about-the-un#:~:text=The%20United%20Nations%20common%20system,%2C%20UNIDO%2C%20and%20UNODC%20).