COVID-19 crisis piles further hardship on Syrians: aid agencies

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region – Millions of Syrians, particularly those displaced by the country’s decade-long civil war, now face further hardships caused by the coronavirus pandemic, aid agencies have said.

The World Food Programme (WFP) on Thursday warned that more than nine million people are “food insecure” in the war-torn country. 

The figures, made worse by the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, represent a sharp increase on the 7.9 million said to be at risk just six months ago.

“Record high food prices and now COVID-19 have pushed families in Syria beyond their limits,” the WFP said in a tweet.

There is particular concern for residents of al-Hol, a displacement camp in Kurdish-controlled northeast Syria.

“A COVID-19 crisis in al-Hol would be a children’s crisis,” Save the Children said in a May 6 statement.

Sixty-five thousand people are said to live in the camp in Hasaka governorate, many of them relatives of Islamic State (ISIS) militants. More than 70 percent of them are children, Save the Children said.

“Children in the camp, many with already weakened immune systems or underlying health conditions as a result of living in desperate conditions during their formative years, may struggle to cope with this deadly virus,” the aid agency said.

Six coronavirus cases have been officially recorded in northeast Syria, including one death. 

International aid agencies warn the virus poses a particular threat to refugees and internally displaced persons (IDPs), who live in close quarters with limited access to the hygiene facilities needed to prevent an outbreak.

Facilities are particularly poor in al-Hol, which suffers from a range of security issues – impeding humanitarian work.

“Camp authorities do not allow home visits... many people are therefore not provided with accurate information to be able to properly protect themselves,” the International Rescue Committee said late April.

Additional reporting by AFP