Since early January 2026, intensified fighting across Aleppo and Northeast Syria has triggered a rapidly evolving humanitarian crisis, displacing around 173,000 people and severely affecting host communities. An estimated 900,000 people now require urgent assistance, including approximately 225,000 women of reproductive age, of whom around 13,500 are pregnant. Damage to infrastructure, the suspension of public services, and winter conditions have significantly disrupted access to essential sexual and reproductive health (SRH) services and heightened protection risks, particularly for women and girls.
The escalation in violence and large-scale displacement have sharply increased the risk of gender-based violence (GBV), especially as families shelter in overcrowded and informal settings lacking privacy, lighting, and adequate sanitation. Health facilities have been damaged or forced to suspend operations, constraining access to life-saving SRH care such as emergency obstetric and newborn services. Mobility restrictions, insecurity, and disrupted supply chains further limit the availability of GBV prevention and response services, leaving women and girls exposed at a time of acute vulnerability.
In response, UNFPA has launched a US$4.9 million flash appeal to reach 250,000 people in Aleppo and Northeast Syria between January and June 2026, prioritizing women, adolescent girls, and other at-risk groups. The response focuses on delivering integrated, life-saving SRH and GBV services through mobile teams, static facilities, and women and girls’ safe spaces, while strengthening referral pathways and frontline capacity. Sustained donor support is critical to prevent avoidable maternal and newborn deaths, mitigate GBV risks, and safeguard the health, dignity, and protection of women and girls affected by this crisis.
