MSF calls on Security Council to renew resolution allowing aid to reach northwest Syria

Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) is calling on the United Nations Security Council to renew and extend the cross-border resolution on Syria (UNSCR 2642) for at least 12 months to allow for the continued delivery of humanitarian aid to the northwest of the country. 

"It is crucial to maintain the flow of aid and stop the ongoing humanitarian crisis. At the same time, we are calling for continued and strengthened support to respond to the growing needs," stresses Francisco Otero y Villar, MSF's general coordinator for Syria. "Millions of people will have less access to food, water and healthcare if the UN Security Council fails to renew the resolution or does so for less than 12 months. Failure to maintain this humanitarian lifeline will result in avoidable deaths." 

Bab al-Hawa is currently the only humanitarian crossing point open into north-western Syria, on the border with Turkey. For the 4.4 million people living in this area of Syria, cross-border aid remains vital as there is no viable alternative in sight to get aid into this area. 2.4 million benefit directly from supplies entering through this crossing every month. 

After 12 years of war, the needs for humanitarian aid and medical care in north-western Syria exceed what is being provided by humanitarian organisations, even with the cross-border mechanism in place. The prolonged economic crisis, hostilities and the general decline in humanitarian funding over the years are weakening the ability of organisations to meet the needs of the population, particularly food and health needs. 

A cholera outbreak, spreading across Syria since September and threatening the lives of thousands of people, is the most recent illustration of the crisis. If fighting escalates in the north of the country, there will be a further influx of displaced people to the north-west, increasing the humanitarian burden in the region. 

In July, the Security Council renewed the resolution for only six months, following numerous rounds of discussions after Russia vetoed a one-year renewal. Unfortunately, this crucial vote on Syria has become a political bargaining tool. The resolution will be put to a vote again today, and there is a risk that the last entry point for humanitarian aid to the north-west of the country will be closed. 

If Bab al-Hawa is closed, it will further complicate the funding mechanisms of many humanitarian organisations in the area. It will also jeopardise the continuity of aid delivery in north-western Syria. Many international and local humanitarian organisations operating in the area rely on pooled funds linked to cross-border resolution. The ever-present threat of non-renewal of the cross-border resolution in the Security Council already creates loopholes for organisations working in the region. Moreover, the ability to respond to emergencies is also linked to continuity of funding. Despite the deteriorating health situation and the more than 1.8 million IDPs living in camps and informal sites - 80% of whom are women and children - NGOs continue to struggle to cover the funding they need. 

If the resolution is not renewed, the ability of humanitarian organisations to deliver aid in north-western Syria would be significantly affected. This uncertainty around the reorganisation of access to north-western Syria will increase pressure on the current humanitarian response and affect the scale and quality of medical assistance provided. Most of MSF's humanitarian supplies to north-west Syria in 2022 have entered through Bab al-Hawa. 

"Changing the way we deliver aid to the region has a cost, and it will have an impact on the way other organisations respond," explains Francisco Otero y Villar. "A refusal to renew would result in hospitals closing because they would not have the funds to pay their workers, and clinics and health centres would lack basic medicines such as insulin". 

Until now, the Bab al-Hawa border crossing remains the fastest, most efficient, transparent and cost-effective way to get aid supplies into north-western Syria. 

"The provision of impartial medical assistance must be guaranteed wherever it is needed," says Otero y Villar. "There is no choice. Bab al-Hawa must remain open". 

For more information on the Syria cross-border resolution, see: The necessary renewal of the UN cross border resolution for Syria.