CARE International has been responding to the Syria crisis since 2013, both in Syria and in neighbouring countries in the region. Currently, CARE operates in Syria through two country offices, CARE Syria based in Amman and inside Northeast Syria, supporting NE and Southern Syria, and CARE Turkey supporting Northwest Syria and Syrian refugees in Turkey.

The donor landscape is still relatively diverse, though dominated by traditional institutional humanitarian donors. Moreover, funds for both Syria and Türkiye are already decreasing with some donors reducing their portfolios or even planning for exit strategies.

WFP is significantly scaling down operations due to funding cuts in 2024 – reducing their caseload from 5 million people to 1 million across Syria. At the same time, the price of food baskets in Syria doubled in 2023 and food insecurity is at an all-time high with 4 out of 5 Syrians being deemed food insecure. Food distributions have been made every other month since the summer, which is also reflected in the sharp drop in numbers of people reached. Partners have already reported a rapid increase in malnutrition and related issues.

In addition to food insecurity, underfunding has implications across all sectors. At the end of 2023, only a third of the 2023 HRP for Syria has been funded – far less than in 2022 (52% funded) The SNFI Cluster’s winter appeal, which targets 2.1 million people with winter assistance, reached only 30 per cent of the needed funding. In the absence of insulation and heating, it is the most vulnerable – women, children, persons with disabilities and the elderly – who bear the most risk of respiratory infections, hypothermia, and preventable deaths. Any cutback in assistance, coupled with increased food insecurity and inflation, is expected to have serious humanitarian consequences.

A reduction of humanitarian funding would not be a negative development if the transition was already in place towards dignified sustainable solutions, which are much needed after more than a decade of conflict. Instead, with the anticipated funding cuts, the response community is stepping back towards the most basic lifesaving humanitarian assistance, where only the most vulnerable among already extremely vulnerable communities will be supported. Gaining interest of donors to fund more sustainable and recovery solutions will be a priority.

Purpose:

• Complete institutional donor mapping for NW Syria and Türkiye
• Analysis of non-traditional donors for the Whole of Syria Response and for Türkiye through engagement with CARE USA, CARE member partners and RMU
• Development of marketing products of CARE on the Whole of Syria Response and separately for Türkiye
• Whole of Syria funding approach for CARE with traditional donors – how can we maximize our access to WoS donors when their budgets are decreasing