The Idlib region in northwestern Syria, still under attack by the Bashar al-Assad regime, is plunged into an alarming humanitarian situation. Thirteen years after the start of the war, more than a year after the earthquake that devastated the region, this area is home to more than 5 million inhabitants, half of whom are crammed into makeshift camps. And this summer, they will have no water. The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) is sounding the alarm: 80% of the population in northwestern Syria are in urgent need of water, humanitarian aid in sanitation and hygiene. A deterioration in health conditions is linked to the glaring lack of funding for NGOs and UN programs on the ground.
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In the middle of an overcrowded camp, Abdelsalam el-Hussein sends us videos of makeshift tents as far as the eye can see, buffeted by a hot wind at over 40°C.
” In the camps, life is very difficult. There is no water, no drainage. The land has become a dump. Insects are proliferating. It is dusty. There is no water for the children to wash themselves daily. This reality is impossible to describe. ” he explains.
Major health crisis
Water shortage on the verge of triggering a major health crisis, worries Osamah el-Hussein of the NGO Mehad.
” Lack of clean water leads to a proliferation of diseases, such as cholera, diarrhea or dysentery. As well as skin and eye diseases. In addition, water shortages have a strong impact on the agricultural sector on which most of the population depends. Without water, it is not possible to plant. And the decline in harvests creates an increased risk of food insecurity. ” he fears.
The most vulnerable on the front line
By working 7 hours a day, these displaced Syrians can hope to earn the equivalent of $1.50/ Or, it costs twice as much to buy the 5 barrels of water needed to cover the needs of a family of five. A situation that affects the most vulnerable, recalls Abdelsalam el-Hussein.
” Malnutrition mainly affects women and small children. There are deaths, especially among newborns. Women can no longer breastfeed, they no longer have milk. », warns Abdelsalam el-Hussein.
After 13 years of war and a deadly earthquake last year, it is now the lack of water that threatens the lives of millions of displaced people in this forgotten region.
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