The millions of civilians in need of humanitarian aid in Syria are bracing themselves for dwindling international help this year, after the World Food Programme (WFP) has ended its mandate for the country as of 2024.
The Syrian government last week extended its approval for cross-border United Nations humanitarian aid to be delivered through a crossing with Turkey for another six months.
The mechanism is an attempt by Syrian President Bashar al-Assad government to enhance his legitimacy in the eyes of the international community since Russia, a main backer of Assad, blocked UN Security Council resolution to use the Bab al-Hawa crossing in July, forcing international partners to work with Damascus.
Previously, the UN had utilised four border crossings to provide relief to areas beyond the Syrian government’s control, following a 2014 UN resolution sanctioned by the Security Council.
However, starting in 2017, Russia and China have gradually challenged this mandate, asserting that all aid should be routed through Damascus.
Stay informed with MEE’s newsletters
Sign up to get the latest alerts, insights and analysis,
starting with Turkey Unpacked
Since 2020, Russia and China have advocated for restricting aid deliveries to only one crossing, namely Bab al-Hawa. However, financial aid allocated to Syria has significantly dropped over recent years due to the prolonged crisis in the country, and more demands elsewhere, straining the financial capacities of aid organisations.
Last year, the WFP announced the closure of its food programme in Syria, supporting 5.6 million people, including those displaced in the country’s northwest.
Simultaneously, USAID and the State Department are implementing significant reductions, of at least 30 percent, in US assistance for Syria, a move anticipated to be mirrored by European donors.
Why is the amount of aid decreasing?
In 2021, 1,000 aid trucks were entering Syria’s north, but this number decreased to 445 last year – and the humanitarian situation is not getting better.
For instance, Geir O Pedersen, special envoy of the secretary-general for Syria, recently highlighted the challenges facing Syria, “including the lack of reliable access to drinking water, chronic fuel and electricity shortages, a cholera pandemic, the total collapse of basic social services, gender-based violence, malnutrition and psychological disorders among children.”
The main reason behind the scaling back of aid appears to be the reluctance of donors. Not only for residents of Syria’s north but also for Syrian refugees in Jordan and Lebanon, the amount of aid is almost grinding to a halt.
In December last year, WFP stated that its budget was shrinking because of donor fatigue, the pandemic, the war in Ukraine, and now Israel’s war on Gaza.
It also announced that it needed $593m for six months to maintain its operations properly but the amount it was able to spend was $2.8m for October.
“Aid to Syria is diminishing because attention is fading away. Violence has decreased, it’s a largely stalemated conflict, and Syria is old news by now,” Aron Lund, an expert on Syria, told Middle East Eye.
Lund also believes that the global economic situation, especially after the pandemic, has increased the pressure on funds allocated by wealthy western nations.
“We are now forgotten victims of a bloody war,” Uthman Saeb, a resident of Idlib province, told MEE in a phone conversation.
“We don’t have a proper house but have been living in a cottage for years. There is no job. We rely on a basket of food they [the UN aid agencies] bring us. Now, they say the basket will get smaller and smaller. How are we going to feed ourselves?”
Lund argues that the problem is not just about fewer donations but also the growing needs of Syrians due to worsening economic conditions…
This article was originally published by a www.middleeasteye.net . Read the Original article here. .