Syria Relief is the largest Syria-focused NGO in the UK. Syria Relief state that they "are dedicated to alleviating the suffering and supporting the future of Syrians who have been affected by the crisis, mainly inside Syria." Syria Relief were formed in 2011 at the start of the Syrian Civil War, since then they have reached millions of people, distributing "hundreds of millions" worth of aid. The charity was initially set up as a short-term humanitarian aid project at the start of the conflict, however it has since grown in size. The charity operates more schools in Syria than any other NGO.
Humanitarian programmes
As well as distributing aid and monitoring displacement, one of the main focuses of Syria Relief's work are health related projects within Syria. Syria Relief's trustees are mainly British doctors and the organisation provides medical help through training and paying the wages of doctors within Syria. Syria Relief worked with Save The Children, doctors and researchers to produce the world's first manual into treating children injured by explosives, which Syria Relief began distributing to emergency units across northwest Syria in May 2019. Syria Relief have also pushed for DfID to fund 3D printed prosthetic limbs for children in Syria who have become victims of the conflict. In October 2019, one of Syria Relief's Primary Healthcare Centres became the target of a shell attack, where 7 were injured, by over 5 shells. Vital equipment and medicines were destroyed in the attack. It was described as a "deliberate attack." Providing schooling for Syrian children is another key aspect of Syrian Relief's work, during the ongoing Idlib offensive, four of the 159 schools that Syria Relief run across the country were hit by airstrikes. As of November 2019 their humanitarian aid programmes includes:
Running 3 hospitals, 2 mobile clinics, 3 primary health centres, 7 family planning clinics and a prosthetic limbs centre, helping over 250,000 people each year.
Running 159 schools, with organisations such as Save the Children and UNICEF, helping approximately 55,592 children.
Providing clean water facilities for over 1.5 million people.
Advocacy
Syria Relief have made efforts to raise awareness of the crisis in Syria, keeping it on the media agenda. In September 2019, they released a report detailing the impact of the deliberate targeting of schools is having on Syrian children, highlighting a spike in illiteracy in areas where schools are hit by airstrikes. In August 2019, they commissioned a YouGov poll which found that 20% of the UK said they did not know if the conflict was still ongoing and 3% believed it has stopped completely. In January 2019, Syria Relief released figures detailing that approximately 75% of children in Idlib are suffering from posttraumatic stress disorder and 50% are suffering from incontinence.
