As the Syrian conflict enters its third year, an outspoken new report from Islamic Relief says the international response to the crisis has been ‘woefully inadequate’ and highlights the ‘chaotic conditions’ and ‘immense suffering’ in makeshift camps that are home to thousands of people.
Samina Haq, Islamic Relief UK’s Head of Programmes, visited Syria last month to assess the situation in camps where Islamic Relief teams are working flat out to provide shelter, food and medical aid. “As an aid worker I’ve visited many refugee camps but what struck me most was the lack of any co-ordinated international presence and limited camp management,” she says. “We were confronted with total chaos and immense human suffering.
“I’ve seen for myself how vital it is for aid agencies to deliver more aid inside Syria – a situation that urgently needs to be addressed by the international community. A breakthrough is needed for aid agencies to establish a more significant presence inside the country and help the hundreds of thousands of Syrians who desperately need humanitarian assistance.”
Islamic Relief has been assisting victims of the Syrian conflict since it began in March 2011. Last year they provided assistance to 1.1 million Syrians – 800,000 inside Syria and 300,000 in neighbouring Jordan, Lebanon and Iraq.
Their £10 million aid programme included:
- Medical aid for 30 field hospitals and 60 other medical points throughout Syria, including a fleet of 30 ambulances
- Hospital treatment for 18,000 people
- Food parcels, clothes and shoes for 154,000 people
- 76,000 portions of baby milk, 450 tonnes of wheat flour and 200 tonnes of dates
- 27,000 hygiene kits plus toilet and shower units for displaced people’s camps
- 76,000 blankets and 30,000 mattresses.
You can download the pdf file of the report here