Syria: Caritas demands immediate help for 15 million people!

Vienna, 13.03.2025 (Cape) - The humanitarian crisis in Syria reaches alarming proportions. The Austrian Caritas urgently warns that the basic needs of millions of people cannot be covered without massive aid measures. Alexander Bodmann, the Vice President of Caritas Austria, called for unhindered access for humanitarian helpers to help people on site and to rebuild the infrastructure after the devastating conflicts of the past 14 years. Almost 15 million people are currently dependent on support, with almost 13 million suffering from nutritional uncertainty. "We hope that people take the opportunity to take peace and accelerate the sanctions against Syria," said Andreas Knapp, Head of Foreign Aid. The destruction particularly affects power grids, streets and health facilities-over 30 medical locations are completely out of operation.

In many regions, the power supply is severely restricted, which massively reduces people's quality of life. In addition, farmers report catastrophic crop failures due to lack of water. The already tense security situation is further difficult by the inflation crisis and bottlenecks in building materials, which intensively affects Caritas's auxiliary measures. "The liquidity crisis in the banking system limits cash availability considerably, which endangers the survival of the population," said Knapp. While Caritas tries to help acutely with emergency aid projects, the longer the conflict lasts, the more dramatic. Caritas guidelines for emergency help show how support is needed.

challenges in Egypt

The situation in Egypt is also critical, since economic instability not only affects Egyptians, but especially people and asylum seekers fled from Syria. These are often active in the informal sector and have lost their work through the crisis, which significantly increases the financial burdens of families. Caritas supports in Egypt through educational programs and projects for the restoration of livelihoods as well as by child protection projects and emergency aids. The focus is on helping particularly vulnerable groups to sustainably improve their living conditions. As Caritas are so serious that every donation could now be decisive.