Nearly 200 camps at risk of losing WASH support due to underfunding

Temperatures in Syria have climbed as high as over 40 degrees this summer, with above-average temperatures foreseen from July to September, according to the World Meteorological Organization. In north-west Syria, the adverse impacts of heat are heavily felt in camps and informal settlements where 2 million people live. Nearly 80 per cent of the camp residents are women and children, many of whom live in overcrowded conditions without adequate ventilation and cooling, let alone privacy of space. According to the Education Cluster, over 80 temporary learning centers in camps have closed this summer due to shortages in water supply.

Today, as many as 660 camps (44 per cent of over 1,500 camps) across Idleb and northern Aleppo do not have water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) support, affecting over 907,000 people. Half of them are children, reported the WASH Cluster. Families are surviving off intermittent water support provided by local authorities or costly water supplies from private companies, which are not always regulated for drinking and safety. Camps that lack sanitation support, such as waste collection and desludging of septic tanks, are seeing piles of trash accruing over time.

More than halfway through 2024, the cross-border response continues to face serious funding gaps amid a scaling down of the operation. UN agencies and partners have significantly reduced human resources to cut costs, resulting in reduced humanitarian activities. This year, the UN and its partners are reaching some 1 million people in north-west Syria per month with aid and critical services – more than half of the 2.5 million people reached in 2023. As of 29 July, over 400 trucks with UN aid have crossed from Türkiye to north-west Syria. During the same period last year, over 3,700 trucks have crossed.

Without increased funding, at least 192 additional camps (111 in Idleb and 81 in northern Aleppo) will be deprived of WASH support by this September, affecting nearly 250,000 people. Many of these camps are already in precarious conditions. According to the Camp Coordination and Camp Management (CCCM) Cluster, over 40 per cent of camps are over five years old and urgently need rehabilitation of properties, roads and communal facilities. 372 camps are located in remote and volatile locations with limited humanitarian assistance coverage.

As of 29 July, the Humanitarian Response Plan for Syria is only some 21 per cent funded, with $871 million secured out of the $4.07 billion needed. The WASH Cluster has been among the worst-funded sectors, having secured only 12 per cent of the funding needed, as of June 2024.

Scabies response targets 71 camps and seven communities

The absence of sanitation services, compounded by limited water supply and overcrowding, creates the ideal conditions for infectious diseases to spread. Scabies are among the diseases of concern in north-west Syria, particularly in dense camps, given that it is transmitted person-to-person through close skin contact.

On 16 July, Health and WASH Cluster partners launched a large-scale permethrin-based mass drug administration against scabies with the support of the World Health Organization (WHO). The campaign will last for 21 days, targeting over 180,000 people in 71 camps and seven communities with financial support from the European Union. Complementing this effort, partners have also distributed UNICEF-procured hygiene kits and provided training to community workers and hygiene promoters to treat the disease and prevent its further spread.

According to the WHO, north-west Syria has a high prevalence of scabies that surpassed the WHO-recommended 10 per cent community transmission threshold, with higher rates in camps, based on a community-based study conducted last December. Individuals living in camps were found to be seven times more likely to contract scabies lesions than those in communities. Children and the elderly living in resource-poor areas, and people with compromised immune systems, face a higher risk of contraction.