Accountability to affected people & people-centred response
People-centred programming and participatory approaches remain fundamental to the overall response. Assessments conducted over the past two years, and the perspectives of the women, men, boys, and girls affected by the evolving situation in Syria serve as a robust evidence base for identifying needs. They are essential for informing response and advocacy initiatives and enabling humanitarian partners to adopt a more informed approach to aid delivery.
The accountability to affected people (AAP) inter-agency coordination groups, integral to the response, are implementing a standardized collective approach to planning and implementation. This approach emphasizes amplifying the voices of affected individuals, needs-based programming, and collaboration with other working groups and sectors to facilitate the effective integration of core AAP commitments. It is crucial to address the gaps identified through inclusive complaints and feedback mechanisms (CFMs) and sectoral assessments and advocate for expanding a collective and inclusive CFM equipped with appropriate referral systems while ensuring leadership commitment to AAP principles. Guided by a unified strategy, the AAP inter-agency coordination groups will prioritize the enhancement of communication and feedback mechanisms for marginalized populations, including the elderly and PWD. Furthermore, these coordination groups will promote face-to-face interactions as a critical element of anticipatory AAP, alongside validating response plans directly with the affected communities through the collective mechanism.
In light of the funding reduction, innovative strategies will be implemented to ensure the efficient utilization of resources mobilized for scaling up efforts and the adoption of existing best practices related to people-centred approaches across all governorates in Syria.
Protection from sexual exploitation and abuse
Since it was established in 2017, the WoS inter-agency protection from sexual exploitation and abuse (PSEA) programme has been supporting the humanitarian response to fulfil its commitments and mitigate the risks of sexual exploitation and abuse (SEA) posed by the complex and protracted humanitarian emergency in Syria. The risk of SEA remains high for women and girls in Syria and is likely to increase as the humanitarian response scales up with a surge of humanitarian aid workers. Continued and emerging hostilities will also exacerbate the already existing needs for humanitarian assistance and limit access to formal and informal reporting mechanisms and survivor assistance. Similarly, the risk of SEA is high in the context of returns from outside or within Syria when individuals are trying to re-establish their lives in areas where they may no longer have any support networks or resources.
For these reasons, the humanitarian community commits to continue prioritizing PSEA in the response for Syria and to strengthen mechanisms to keep communities safe from sexual exploitation and abuse. As the coordination structures for the humanitarian response in Syria change, the respective PSEA networks seek to build on existing efforts and leverage best practices across the humanitarian response to facilitate the transition of PSEA coordination and mechanisms into one unified PSEA network with sub-national coordination mechanisms. Inter-agency PSEA coordination and activities will continue collaborating with the collective approaches and mechanisms on AAP and risk management in Syria. Efforts will be made to jointly develop and adapt tools, awareness and training material for partners, and work to strengthen and extend reporting systems countrywide. In addition, inter-agency PSEA coordination and activities will be implemented, with particular consideration for local organizations and with the aim of strengthening local capacities during the process of adapting humanitarian coordination in Syria.
Gender
The multi-dimensional crisis facing Syrians, in which conflict-related, human rights, economic, social and natural factors co-exist, disproportionately affects women and girls and limits the enjoyment of their basic human rights. They face heightened health risks, risks of violence, psychosocial distress and the need to resort to negative coping strategies, while facing reductions to their access to services, schools and job opportunities.
Women and girls are less likely to safely access humanitarian assistance compared to men and boys, and this is further exacerbated for those living with interlinked vulnerabilities (e.g., age, ability, marital and displacement status). Women, particularly mothers, often face difficulties in decision-making regarding their own lives and health and that of their children. Empowering women to participate in these decisions is essential to improving individual and community life and health outcomes. Female-headed households also often face greater economic vulnerability, which leads to a higher percentage of female-headed households being unable to afford costs of education, health services, nutrition and non-food items.
In 2025, the humanitarian response will ensure the voices, experiences, priorities, participation and leadership of Syrian women and girls are at the forefront of advocacy and the humanitarian response. The distinct needs of women and adolescent girls will be prioritized, in particular shelter, health, protection and menstrual hygiene management, based on an intersectional gender analysis. This will involve targeted efforts to overcome barriers such as restrictive cultural norms, financial constraints, and limited mobility. The humanitarian community will strive to identify and support women’s organisations to fully participate and, where possible lead, humanitarian response and its decision-making processes. Engagements with different stakeholders will also promote due respect to women’s rights, protection and participation.
Disability
Persons living with disabilities in Syria encounter numerous societal barriers, both attitudinal and environmental, which hinder their access to opportunities and services, and which are compounded by the intersectionality of disabilities with other factors like gender and age. An estimated 17 per cent of the people in need in Syria live with a disability. They encounter barriers to accessing healthcare, education, and employment, leading to higher poverty rates. Households with disabled members are more likely to rely on emergency coping strategies, reflecting their higher vulnerability. Humanitarian actors and stakeholders are responsible for ensuring that their response is inclusive of PWDs.
The systemic exclusion of PWDs exacerbates their socio-economic vulnerabilities, limiting their ability to contribute to and benefit from community life and development initiatives. Efforts should be made to create a transformative environment where PWDs are protected and empowered to lead and actively participate in community development, fostering a more inclusive, resilient, and cohesive society.