• Syria
• Refugee
• Relief

It has been 12 years since Syria’s civil war broke out in March 2011, yet for those that have been impacted by the war, the end is still nowhere in sight. The devastating earthquake that happened in February 2023 in Turkey near the Syria border, was yet another major blow for Syrians living in the area.

According to the latest estimate of UN Human Rights Office, more than 300,000 civilians were killed over 10 years in the Syria conflict (as of March 2021). Apart from producing high casualties and displacing half of the country’s population, the war has brought massive destruction to the country and deprived an entire generation of Syrian children of their childhood. Millions of children who were born straight into the thick of conflict are losing access to education, healthcare and livelihoods, as well as suffering psychosocial effects and even becoming victims of child marriage. They are also unable to return to their homeland, not to mention pursuing their dreams. A Syrian child’s life expectancy has been reduced by 13 years since the war broke out. Intervention and support from the international community is their last hope.

Watch the video and find out more about how Syrians were impacted by the first 10 years of the war:

12 Years On…

• 6.8 million people have been displaced inside Syria
• More than 5.4 million people have sought refuge in other countries
• 15.3 million people are in need of humanitarian assistance, nearly half of them are children
• Over 12.1 million people are food insecure and more than 790,000 children are malnourished
• Inflation rate reached 90% in 2022 and more than 80% of households are unable to meet basic needs
• With one in every three schools across Syria destroyed, damaged or used for military purposes, 2.4 million children in Syria are out of school
• More than 40% of the hospitals and health centres across Syria have been damaged, meaning that they are either completely out-of-service, or partially functional
• More than 1/4 of households’ children show signs of psychological distress
• In northwest Syria, where 2.87 million internally displaced people live, the number of recorded suicide doubled in the first six months of 2022. Reasons behind suicide were identified as low income, lack of jobs, financial burden, and feelings of hopelessness

In Northwest Syria, these displaced Syrian children are playing with rocks near the basic tents where they stay.

Displaced Syrians in Northwest Syria are relying on humanitarian assistance to survive the wet and cold winter.

World Vision's Response

World Vision continues responding to the protracted crisis in and around Syria. In 2022, our work has reached over 1.9 million people, nearly half of them are children. Our response work includes the following sectors:

• Education and child protection: Support children who have missed out on education to acquire knowledge and life skills to return to formal schools; offer sports, recreational activities and learning opportunities to children living in refugee camps; work with schools, parents and leaders to promote child protection; provide early childhood education and psychosocial support


• Food, cash and livelihood: Provide cash allowance, food vouchers and food commodities to families in need; support young and unemployed people to increase their resilience by providing training on job skills; support families on small business development; recruit incentive-based volunteers to collect, sort and recycle garbage in refugee camps


• Water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH): Distribute hygiene kits and encourage families to maintain personal hygiene to reduce risk of diseases; provide drainage, infrastructure and water-trucking in refugee camps


• Winter and household supplies: Distribute items like tents, blankets, stoves and gas cylinders for families to meet their particular needs for winter


• Health and nutrition: Run mobile medical clinics; set up women and young child spaces to provide psychological and peer support for mothers; provide treatment for malnourished children

ACT NOW to support Syrian refugee children and families!