Syria

Syria is a country of deep history and cultural heritage, but after almost 14 years of war ended in 2024, millions of people continue to live with the consequences.

Poverty, displacement and the collapse of essential services have left families struggling to survive. 

The conflict transformed Syria into one of the world’s largest displacement crises. As of March 2025, there were more than 7.4 million internally displaced within Syria, while another 6.2 million were abroad, taking refuge in neighbouring countries. 

Today, 16.5 million people are in urgent humanitarian need, among a population of 23.7 million (UNOCHA, 2025). 

Life is made bleaker still by catastrophic climate-related incidents. Drought and flooding have given rise to deadly cholera outbreaks which threaten all 14 governates of Syria. 

Islamic Relief continues to stand with the people of Syria. We have been operating in Syria since 2011 and have supported millions of people through humanitarian programmes. 

Find out more about the current crisis in Syria  

Rebuilding hope amid the scars of conflict 

More than 500,000 people were killed during the war, while entire villages, towns and cities lie in ruins. Over 130,000 people have been detained, abducted, or gone missing in Syria since 2011. 

While the change of authorities has offered hope of a new dawn for the country, the situation in Syria remains dire. 

Islamic Relief’s work in Syria 

Since 2011, Islamic Relief has stood alongside the people of Syria, delivering lifesaving aid throughout more than a decade of war, siege and displacement. 

From the height of the conflict to the recent return of displaced families, your Syria donations have helped provide emergency food, medical supplies, shelter and protection to millions of vulnerable people 

Rebuilding communities and restoring lives 

Originally built as a refugee camp, the region of Yarmouk grew into Syria’s largest Palestinian community – but now it lies in ruins, a broken shell of what used to be a thriving community. 

Thanks to your support, Islamic Relief delivered emergency food and hygiene kits to over 70,000 for families in areas like Yarmouk during the siege. 

As families continue to return home following the change in government, we are expanding our operations in Yarmouk and beyond.  

Your donations are helping us provide food, heating and medical items while we begin the long-term work of rebuilding homes, restoring schools and repairing vital infrastructure repair vital infrastructure help Islamic relief as we continue our operations in Syria to rebuild Syria to rebuild lives. 

Critical healthcare interventions 

We established and continue to support the only heart surgery centre in northern Syria – an essential service for patients in the area, many of whom previously had to travel to Turkiye to receive treatment. At the centre patients are treated for free. 

We have supported paediatric centres across Northern Syria, providing essential medicine and equipment and also strengthened the capacity of our teams and local organisations so they are better able to respond to emergency situations in Syria and neighbouring countries. 

We have also run an essential healthcare centre which has provided prosthetic limbs to people whose lives have been devastated by severe injury. The scale of trauma across the country has meant that the centre has been overwhelmed by people needing treatment. 

Lifesaving humanitarian assistance 

When two major 7.8 and 7.5 magnitude earthquakes struck the regions of Southeast Türkiye (Türkiye) and Northwest Syria in February 2023, approximately 10.9 million people were impacted in Syria. 

In the immediate aftermath of the disaster, we supported over 96,900 families in Syria with essential items including food, shelter and medical items.