Desperate Conditions in Sweida, Syria: Families Struggle Without Food, Water, and Medical Care – How Save the Children is Stepping In to Provide Aid

Crisis in Syria’s Sweida Governorate

Families in Syria’s Sweida Governorate are facing a dire situation. With hospitals closed, roads blocked, and water systems damaged, many lack essential medical care, food, and clean water. Save the Children has called for urgent access for aid.

Recently, over 93,000 people have been forced to flee their homes due to intense fighting. The United Nations reports that whole communities are emptying, with heartbreaking scenes of unburied bodies, including those of children, left in the streets. Since fighting erupted on July 11, hundreds have lost their lives, including women, children, and medical workers. Ceasefire agreements have repeatedly failed, leading to ongoing shelling and airstrikes.

Save the Children has emergency supplies ready, including food, water, and hygiene kits, but they cannot deploy these resources without safe access.

One relief worker from the region conveyed the nightmare families are living in. They fled their home and are now staying with relatives and other families in a nearby village. Many villages are almost deserted, as people choose to leave rather than risk their lives.

“Moving around is nearly impossible,” they shared. “People are queuing to charge their phones using a few solar panels left. The local hospital is running low on supplies, and diseases are spreading. There has been no aid reaching us.”

Bujar Hoxha, the Country Director for Save the Children in Syria, expressed deep concern: “After 14 years of conflict, children should be dreaming, not living in fear. The violence must stop. All parties need to pave paths for aid, especially for our children who need it the most.”

International organizations are urged to open and maintain safe humanitarian corridors for medical evacuations and families escaping violence. There is a pressing need for renewed diplomatic efforts, increased funding, and support for local responders to assist trapped towns, recover remains, and curb disease outbreaks.

Since 2012, Save the Children has provided support to over 11 million people in Syria, including more than 5 million children, offering them food, water, healthcare, education, and emotional support. They are prepared to expand their efforts for those in Sweida as soon as it is safe to do so.

This ongoing situation highlights the importance of international cooperation and humanitarian response. The children of Sweida need our voices.

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