Rural Damascus - “When I was three years old, I remember my father telling me he would come and pick me and my sister up from our aunt’s house, but he never did,” said Othayma. She is now 15 years old and lives with her sister Nawara, 12, and grandmother Othayma, 66, in Nashabieh town in Rural Damascus. Prior to the conflict, Othayma lived happily with her father, mother, and sister. Sadly, she lost her mother and father to the conflict. Othayma’s grandmother had sought refuge from the conflict in neighbouring Jordan but as soon as she heard about the passing away of little Othayma’s and Nawara’s father in 2012, she packed her bags and retuned to Syria. “I had no money, no place to go to. For three years, we stayed on the streets, at bus stations and in public parks. Then one day, a good man offered us a room to stay in. It had been used to shelter displaced people,” said the grandmother. “I helped other women to cook for a living,” she added. After seven years, when life was becoming increasingly expensive, Othayma and her granddaughters moved back to their hometown in Nashabieh. They stayed in her sister’s house, damaged during the conflict years. The girls were out of school during the displacement. After their return to Nashabieh, things felt more stable, and their grandmother encouraged them to go back to learning. “I know how to write some letters and numbers as I used to watch my cousins do their homework attentively. Sometimes, I’d cry at night as I desperately wanted to go to school,” said young Othayma. In 2022, when the girls and their grandmother returned to their hometown, the primary school in town was visibly damaged from the conflict and its few functional classrooms were overcrowded with students. "When I first saw the school after our return, it made me feel sad. All the holes on the walls and the big damage to the surrounding area were not welcoming. I didn’t want to go there. After a while, I passed by the school and the streets around it looked clean. Workers were painting the walls. I was curious and excited to go there."- Othayma, 15 years A few days later in December 2022, the grandmother enrolled both Othayma and Nawara in the primary school. In 2022, UNICEF, in partnership with UN-Habitat, began joint rehabilitation works in several schools to provide children a safe environment to learn. Othayma’s school was one of them. UNICEF’s support included repair works to restore additional classrooms for students to learn in. The rehabilitation equipped the schools with handrails in corridors and ramps in entrances, making the school more inclusive for children with disabilities. UNICEF also carried out water and sanitation maintenance works, including the rehabilitation of the water well in Al-Nashabieh primary school. Complementing UNICEF’s efforts in bringing children back to safer schools, the UN sister agency UN-Habitat installed solar system lamps in the streets surrounding the schools, repaired the sidewalks in the area, planted trees around the schools, installed shaded seats and traffic signs and placed road bumps to ensure passing vehicles would slow down to enable students on foot to arrive safely to school. “When I hold the pencil to draw, I forget all about the bad things and memories. I start dreaming of a future where I will be a happy and successful woman who can reward her grandmother for being a good person and for everything she has done for me,” said Othayma. She currently studies the ‘Curriculum B’, an accelerated learning programme, supported by UNICEF. The programme helps children who have missed out on their education to catch up to their peers. Othayma has also discovered her love for arts at school and wishes to become a painter or a hairdresser in the future. "When I hold the pencil to draw, I forget all about the bad things and memories. I start dreaming of a future where I will be a happy and successful woman who can reward her grandmother for being a good person and for everything she has done for me." - Othayma, 15 Since 2022, UNICEF has supported the light rehabilitation of 55 schools across Syria, benefitting more than 24,000 children with access to a safe education environment. The works were made possible thanks to contributions from the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) through the KFW Development Bank, Governments of Finland and Japan, the Swiss Agency for Development Cooperation. Also, these activities are part of the UN Joint Programme to Build Urban and Rural Resilience and the Conditions for Recovery in Syria, through UNICEF, and they have been implemented with support from the European Union and the Government of Norway.  

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres appointed Mr. Adam Abdelmoula of Sudan as the United Nations Resident Coordinator in Syria. He will also serve as Humanitarian Coordinator. He took up his post on May 14. Mr. Abdelmoula brings more than 35 years of experience in development, rule of law, human rights, humanitarian work and security, of which the last 24 have been with the UN. Prior to his appointment as United Nations Resident Coordinator, he was serving as Deputy Special Representative of the Secretary-General, Resident Coordinator and Humanitarian Coordinator for Somalia, where he led the UN’s development and humanitarian activities amid the worst drought in generations, political instability, disease outbreaks and a looming famine. Prior to this, Mr. Abdelmoula held different positions within the UN System, including as Director of the UN Human Rights Council and Treaty Mechanisms Division at the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR); Country Director for Iraq at the UN Development Programme (UNDP); Resident Coordinator and Resident Representative in Syria and Kuwait, Chief of Middle East and North Africa (MENA) Section at OHCHR, Deputy Chief of the  United Nations Mission in Liberia Human Rights Division, Chief Human Rights Officer of the United Nation Assistant Mission for Iraq and Senior Rule of Law and Human Rights Adviser for Somalia. Before joining the UN, Mr. Abdelmoula worked for several international and regional organizations including Human Rights Watch, Lawyers Committee for Human Rights, the Arab Lawyers Union and the Fund for Peace.  Mr. Abdelmoula has a doctorate in public international law from Georgetown University, a Master of Law from Harvard Law School and Batchelor of Law from Khartoum University.

Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen,
Bonsoir and Al-Salam Alikium The earthquake has been for Syrian people akin to the effect of COVID-19 infecting a sick body weakened by 12 years of crisis. Its impact is devastating. This time it is not war, it is the very earth Syrians believed it was reliable, until it shook. This is a crisis on top of a crisis and terrible shock for Syrians.
Since the 6th of February, 500,000 people have been displaced, and thousands more lost access to basic services and livelihood. Collective shelters, camps, and informal settlements are overcrowded. Violence, abuse, and mental health are on the rise. Hygiene is disastrous, and cholera lurks around the corner.
As USG Achim Steiner just said, before this earthquake, 15.3 million people— 70 per cent of the country’s population—needed assistance. 4.1 million were already living under extreme or catastrophic humanitarian conditions. Add to this a terrible earthquake.
Human reality is grim. Dina is a young teacher, mother of 4 children, and displaced for the third time in 12 years. I met her in a shelter in Aleppo. Her building collapsed. She now lives in the very same classroom where she used to teach. She lost everything. Fridge, TV, furniture, everything. Her husband’s small business is buried under the rubble. From a struggling middle class, the family is suddenly thrown into the humanitarian basket. She is scared to go to the bathroom at night. “There is no light, no running water, no security. We have nothing left." She shouted.
Thousands of men, women, children, orphans, and vulnerable people need shelter, food, medicine, blankets, toilets, water, electricity, sewerage, education, health services, and protection. Above all, they need dignity, they need jobs, and legitimate options in life. If left without options, people will seek alternatives elsewhere.
The first weeks of response have uncovered deep vulnerabilities that need to be addressed if humanitarian efforts are to be effective. The absence of basic enabling systems, that is energy, water, sewerage, and basic infrastructure is hindering humanitarian work. Business as usual will only lead to more People-in-Need.
Let us do it right this time. While lifesaving and life sustenance are important, assistance must take the people out of poverty, reduce vulnerabilities, and break the cycle of dependency on aid. Excellencies,
The estimated needs are vast and vary between $7.9 billion (the WB) and $14.8 billion (UN). The preliminary UN estimates come from the Syria Earthquake Recovery Needs Assessment, or SERNA. The most badly hit sectors are Housing, Land and Settlements, Health and Nutrition, Education, and WASH. 75% are partially damaged, if repaired immediately will restore services and allow people to live with some sense of dignity.
The UN is already on the ground and we are ready to scale our efforts to the needs.
The next 24 months are crucial. We need both life sustenance and early recovery. These are two sides of the same coin. Life sustenance alone will only lead to an increase in the number of People in Need. Excellencies,
Millions of men, women, and children in Syria, in all of Syria, need our support. Let us focus on people not on politics. We need your support, we need funds, and we need access.
Humanitarian assistance needs to flow without any hinderances.
Without adequate resources, and a proper approach, there could be more people require humanitarian assistance by the start of 2024. Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen.
Please be generous. Help the survivors recover their livelihoods so they are able to put food on the table. Help them rebuild their lives. Young boys and girls must enjoy safety of a home, education, health, protections, and a better future.
If we do not act now, hundreds of thousands will be trapped into poverty, despair, and chaos. Let us make sure we put people first.
Your presence today, is a proof that you care.
Thank you.

On 6 February 2023, a 7.8 magnitude earthquake, followed by two devastating tremors, struck Türkiye and Syria, causing widespread destruction, and killing tens of thousands of people. To help mobilise support from the international community in dealing with the devastating aftermath, President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, and Prime Minister of Sweden, Ulf Kristersson, as the Presidency of the Council of the EU, will jointly host a Donors' Conference on 20 March 2023 in Brussels. The aim of the Donors’ Conference is to raise funds and coordinate the relief response in the areas affected in both countries. The conference will be organised in coordination with Turkish authorities. Related resources Agenda:
ttps://commission.europa.eu/document/download/41f3c708-ead9-422b-a3db-73085225a7eb_en?filename=Donors_Conference_agenda_0.pdf Media Advisory: https://commission.europa.eu/document/download/8a825fe9-3cd2-4553-a6ca-85be3b940a77_en?filename=Media%20advisory_donors%27%20conference_%20final.pdf Social Media Resources: https://commission.europa.eu/strategy-and-policy/priorities-2019-2024/stronger-europe-world/donors-conference-turkiye-and-syria/social-media-kit_en Live broadcast (starting at 3:30 pm Damascus time) https://commission.europa.eu/strategy-and-policy/priorities-2019-2024/stronger-europe-world/donors-conference-turkiye-and- Syria