4.1 million people in northwestern Syria will no longer be able to get the urgent aid they need, after the United Nations mechanism for the entry of vital humanitarian aid across the borders for millions of people in Syria ended, on Monday.
The decision came after Russia used its veto in the UN Security Council, on Tuesday, to prevent the issuance of a resolution extending the mechanism for bringing humanitarian aid into Syria across the borders for nine months, the day after the effects of this mechanism, which allows the delivery of vital aid to millions of residents in areas outside the control of Syria, ended. Damascus, according to the agency “Agence France Presse”.
While the United Nations, humanitarian relief organizations and a number of members of the Security Council called for extending this mechanism for a year, Russia insisted on extending it for only six months, and used its “veto” against a compromise proposed by Switzerland and Brazil, which are responsible for this file, to extend the mechanism for nine months.
The mechanism, established in 2014, allows the United Nations to deliver humanitarian aid to residents of opposition-held areas in northwestern Syria without obtaining the approval of the Syrian regime, which condemns this mechanism and considers it a violation of its sovereignty.
humanitarian repercussions
The United Nations says that 4 million people in northwestern Syria, most of them women and children, need humanitarian assistance to continue after years of conflict, economic crises, disease outbreaks and increasing poverty exacerbated by the devastating February earthquake.
According to Human Rights Watch, more than 4.6 million people live in northwest Syria, half of whom have been displaced at least once or more since the beginning of the conflict. Civilians in these areas are trapped, lack the resources to leave the area, cannot cross into Turkey, and fear persecution if they attempt to move into government-controlled areas.
Stunting rates among children reached 28 percent in some parts of the country, and maternal malnutrition reached 25 percent in northeastern Syria, according to the United Nations World Food Programme.
The WFP explained that the country that used to be self-sufficient in food production is now ranked among the six countries with the highest rates of food insecurity in the world, with heavy reliance on food imports.
Damaged infrastructure, rising fuel costs and drought-like conditions have reduced wheat production in Syria by 75 percent, according to the WFP.
The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs stated that more than 103,000 internally displaced persons have been registered in northwest Syria since the first earthquake on February 6, and more than 10,600,600 buildings have been partially or completely damaged due to the earthquakes.
OCHA said that prior to the earthquakes, at least 4.1 million people in northwest Syria relied almost entirely on humanitarian aid to survive.
This aid is mostly provided by United Nations agencies and partners on the ground from Turkey, through a cross-border mechanism mandated by the Security Council, in addition to some international and regional relief organizations that operate outside the UN relief system.
According to the United Nations World Food Programme, more than 90 percent of Syrians live below the poverty line, and at least 12 million Syrians, more than half of the population, cannot obtain or afford enough quality food.
And an increase of 9 percent from the previous year, at least 14.6 million Syrians across Syria need some form of humanitarian assistance to meet their basic needs, including 6.9 million internally displaced Syrians, making humanitarian operations in Syria among the largest in the world, according to UNHCR. United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.
A study conducted by the World Bank in 2022, covering 14 Syrian cities, concluded that the war has caused severe damage to the physical infrastructure since 2011, including irrigation systems, electricity supplies, water and sanitation, housing, as well as health and educational facilities.
According to estimates by the World Food Programme, 12.1 million people in Syria, or more than 50 percent of the population, are currently food insecure, and another 2.9 million are at risk of slipping into hunger.
Access to health care and adequate housing is also at risk, as thousands of displaced Syrians are unable to find adequate shelter or medical care.
The World Food Program said that the average monthly wage in Syria currently covers about a quarter of a family’s food needs, highlighting the urgent need to increase humanitarian assistance.
The Food Program stated that the February 6 earthquakes caused a rise in food prices in Syria and became 13 times more expensive than they were three years ago. In addition to worsening food price inflation over the next 12 months, the upward trajectory is expected to continue.
#aid.. #devastating #repercussions #Russian #veto #millions #Syrians
2023-07-12 02:12:24
