PARLIAMENTARY WRITTEN QUESTION
Syria: Development Aid (15 March 2021)

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment he has made of the effect of recent reductions in UN-authorised cross-border aid mechanisms on the delivery of UK-funded health programmes in Syria.

Asked by:
Anna McMorrin (Labour)

The reduction of UN-mandated cross-border aid has made access to essential healthcare services even more difficult for millions across Northern Syria. Only 6% of public hospitals in the north-east are assessed to be fully functioning. In the North West, widespread food insecurity has led to stunted growth for one-third of children, one in nine pregnant women are malnourished, and COVID-19 is further exacerbating ongoing healthcare issues. The current UN cross-border aid mechanism is critical to ensure the successful delivery of COVID-19 vaccines to hard-to-reach populations such as north-west Syria, with other 330,000 vaccines to be distributed via Turkey.

The UK is clear that no other mechanism can replace the scale and scope of the UN operations in northern Syria, and strongly supports the renewal of UNSCR 2533, so that UN operations can continue to meet the needs in North West Syria, avoiding further humanitarian disaster.

Answered by:
Sir James Cleverly (Conservative)
18 March 2021