As winter approaches in northwest Syria, the already harsh living conditions of more than two million displaced people are becoming even more difficult to deal with. People living in camps across the region face the prospect of leaking tents, mud-filled streets and freezing temperatures.
For many, it won't be their first winter in such conditions. Over the past years, northwest Syria has seen multiple waves of displacement, the latest in early 2020, when fighting in the region resulted in close to one million people fleeing to safer areas.
Whenever it rains, the roads in the camp become rivers of mud, making it difficult for people to leave their tents, either on foot or by motorbike, to buy groceries, get to work or see a doctor. The muddy, flooded roads can also make it hard for aid workers to reach the camp.
Teams from Médecins Sans Frontières/Doctors Without Borders (MSF) have started distributing ‘winter kits’ of warm clothes, tarpaulins, mattresses and blankets to around 14,500 families living in more than 70 camps for displaced people across the region, to help improve their living conditions over the coming winter.
This year, another concern for people in northwest Syria is the COVID-19 pandemic, which continues to have a considerable impact in the region. So far, more than 17,000 confirmed cases have been registered and some fear that the number of infections will increase significantly over the winter period.
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More than 2M displaced people living in NW Syria are bracing for a harsh winter that will make living conditions even worse.
— أطباء بلا حدود سوريا (@MSF_Syria) December 11, 2020
Our teams started distributing winter kits containing warm clothes, tarps, mattresses, and blankets to 14,500+ families. Read more https://t.co/hTiZKR8kxe