UN: 67% of Syrians live in abject poverty

More than two thirds of the Syrian population live in either extreme or abject poverty as a result of nearly six years of civil war, United Nations Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator Stephen O’Brien said in a statement to the Security Council yesterday.

Describing the humanitarian catastrophe blighting Syria, O’Brien said: “Over 12.8 million people in Syria require health assistance and more than seven million are food insecure amidst rising prices and food shortages.”

He listed the destruction of essential infrastructure including schools and hospitals; the devaluation of the currency, the impact of sanctions, rising food prices, shortages of fuel and electricity, as well as a lack of clean water that have exacted a high toll on the majority of Syrian families and communities throughout the country.

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Commenting on the rate of displacement he said: “In 2016, the rate of displacement continued unabated with an average of over 5,000 people displaced per day between January and December – some more than once. Over half of all Syrians have been forced from their homes since 2011, 6.3 million of whom are internally displaced, more than 4.9 million registered as refugees in neighbouring countries, and nearly 1.2 million Syrians who have applied for asylum in Europe.”

O’Brien described the grim reality of millions of children that have been forced into begging, smuggling and scavenging. With widespread devastation of livelihoods and family separation across the country, recruitment and use of children in the conflict, has become a growing concern. Some 5.82 million children and youth from pre-school to secondary school-age, including over 118,000 Palestine refugee children, are in need of education assistance inside Syria, he said.

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Closing his remarks, O’Brien stressed the “the eyes of all of Syria, and the eyes of the world, are looking to Geneva”, where the fourth round of UN-brokered talks between the Syrian government and opposition groups got underway today.