Latest Situation

The conflict in Syria has now been going on for three and a half years. The latest estimates put the number of people in need inside Syria at 12.2 million, which 7.6 million are internally displaced. In addition, over 3.2 million people have fled Syria and are now living as refugees in neighbouring countries.

Oxfam’s Response

Since the start of our work in 2012, we have reached 1.5 million people, 1.08 million people in Syria and 435,000 refugees in Lebanon and Jordan.

As winter approaches, both refugees and people internally displaced urgently need protection from health risks and hardship of the harsher conditions. We are providing materials that shield shelters from the elements, plastic sheeting and cash that enable refugees to find ways to battle the cold of winter.

In Syria

• 35% of water treatment plants have been damaged and the contamination of drinking water is a huge concern.
• Work with local water boards to install generators to provide power for water treatment plants, to deliver safe and clean water to over 500,000 people in Damascus city and the surrounding province.
• Provide water to tens of thousands of people near Homs, Damascus and Aleppo, by drilling wells, building water pumps and pipelines or send water trucks.
• Train staff from the Ministry of Water Resources, local water boards and other NGOs to work together, to manage the demand and supply on water resources.

In Jordan

• Helped 138,000 people in Jordan, which hosts over 600,000 refugees.
• Provide approximately 3,800 square meter of water every day by water truck in the Zaatari camp, the largest camp in Jordan with around 90,000 people.
• Disinfect water tanks and clean all waste containers in the three Oxfam districts in the camp.
• Target to replace the water trucking by installing piped water distribution network in the longer term.
• Work with families to use grey water (the waste water from bathing and washing), to plant trees (fir and eucalyptus) in three districts in Zaztari camp.
• Set up cash-for-work programme which employs refugees to manage the disposal of rubbish in order to keep the camp clean.

In Lebanon

• Lebanon has the highest concentration of refugees per capita in the world - 1.1 million Syrian refuges in the country, almost 25% of the population.
• Reached 297,000 people by delivering trucks of water, distributing hygiene kits and installing three water points.
• Distribute cash for medical treatment to those with seriously ill family members who cannot afford treatment, for example, we helped more than 130 cancer patients through the programme.

Oxfam’s Campaign

• In August 2014, we launched a global media campaign to mark 3 million refugees being registered with UNHCR, highlighting the devastating impact of the refugee crisis.
• In September 2014, we launched the report “A Fairer Deal for Syrians” assessing the state of the international response to the crisis. We looked at whether governments were meeting their ‘fair share” of aid funding, offers of resettlement to refugees and policies on transfers for arms and ammunition to continue to fuel the conflict.
• Oxfam’s partner the Carnegie Middle East Centre has organized a conference to launch a new report “Hungry for Peace: Positives and Pitfalls of Local Truces and Ceasefires in Syria”. The report analyses both top-down attempts and over 35 different local negotiations across Syria over the last 3 years.

The full report is available here