After 20 months of conflict, the protection environment for children has almost collapsed, as ongoing hostilities, repeated displacement, and limited humanitarian access continue to have a devastating impact on the safety, security, rights and well-being of children.
Syria has one of the largest numbers of internally displaced persons (IDPs) in the world (7.4 million IDPs). The UN and humanitarian partners also estimate that in 2025 over 16.5 million people in Syria need humanitarian assistance.
Since 8 December 2024, over 1,000 casualties from unexploded ordnance (UXO) have been reported, including hundreds of deaths and injuries, one-third of them children, highlighting the urgent need for protection and risk education.
The current volume and pace of deliveries remain critically insufficient to meet the needs of Gaza's entire population, which is facing high levels of acute food insecurity.
In 2022, the Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) Foundation began a new activity at the Haydan hospital in northern Yemen to integrate pediatric rehabilitation into medical care. The initiative aimed to support children with neuromotor challenges, most of which are linked to malnutrition—a widespread consequence of prolonged conflict and food insecurity that has severely impacted child development in the region.
This gender analysis examines the differentiated impacts of the ongoing humanitarian crisis in Lebanon on women, men, girls, and boys, with a specific emphasis on education, child protection, and access barriers across key sectors including WASH, education, nutrition, shelter, and livelihoods.
The number of malnourished children in the Gaza Strip is rising at an alarming rate, with 5,119 children between 6 months and 5 years of age admitted for treatment for acute malnutrition in May alone.
According to the report, released last June 12, an estimated 2.3 million children under the age of five are suffering from acute malnutrition, including 714,000 facing severe cases, and 1.2 million pregnant and breastfeeding women requiring immediate treatment and care.
A deadly mix of conflict, climate change and poverty have pushed 2.3 million children aged under 5 in South Sudan into life threatening acute malnutrition, with rates soaring just months after foreign governments announced the slashing of funds to the world’s poorest countries, Save the Children said.
The report shows that one in five people in Lebanon – around 1.17 million individuals – are facing crisis or emergency levels of acute food insecurity between April and June 2025.
Footage of the newly opened Israeli-backed, US-supported aid distribution centers in Gaza is horrifying: Palestinians clamoring to get food; crowds being turned away; gunfire ringing out.
According to the Site Management Cluster (SMC), more than 664,800 Palestinians in Gaza were displaced between 18 March and 11 June. With no safe place to go, many people have sought refuge in every available space, including overcrowded displacement sites, makeshift shelters, damaged buildings, streets and open areas.
Since the limited resumption of humanitarian assistance into Gaza on 19 May, WFP has only been able to bring in small amounts of life-saving food and aid. This is largely due to delays or denials of permission for humanitarian movements due to expanded military operations.
Donor funding decreased consistently from 2020 to 2022, followed by an increase in 2023. This was not sustained, as in 2024, there was a sharp decline in funding, resulting in the lowest funding received by SSHF in five years. The decrease in funding reflects a continuous drop in contributions.
The Regional Humanitarian Coordinator for the Syria Crisis and the Humanitarian Coordinator in Syria launched the Syria Cross-border Humanitarian Fund – Syria Humanitarian Fund - 2025 First Standard Allocation Strategy titled “Catalyzing humanitarian action: addressing critical needs of IDPs, supporting returns, and building resilience for the most vulnerable populations in Syria”.
While critically needed aid is finally trickling into Gaza, the pace is far too slow to meet the overwhelming needs. Meanwhile, WFP has more than 130,000 mt of food ready to be delivered into Gaza and a functioning delivery network ready to provide assistance to up to 2 million people.
We urge the international community to seize this opportunity to scale up funding for Syrian humanitarian response and for Syria’s recovery in a manner that is timely, predictable, and responsive to evolving needs. The lifting of sanctions offers a renewed opportunity to help Syrians rebuild their lives in safety and dignity, and to advance toward the peace, stability, and future they rightfully deserve.
The World Health Organization (WHO), in partnership with the Government of the United Arab Emirates through the Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan Foundation for Humanitarian Work (an affiliate of Erth Zayed Philanthropies), and in close coordination with Yemen’s Ministry of Public Health and Population (MoPHP), has launched a comprehensive programme to combat malnutrition in Socotra, a Yemeni island in the Indian Ocean.
