International report: 6 million Syrians in need of aid before the end of 2026
The Famine Early Warning Systems Network (FEWS NET) has warned that the food security crisis in Syria will worsen in the coming months and that millions of Syrians will remain in need of humanitarian assistance until early 2027 despite the expected improvement in agricultural production during the current season.
In a report published on "Syria's Food Security Outlook for the Next Six Months", the network said that continued economic pressures, weak purchasing power, declining sources of income, and the rising cost of living will absorb the expected improvement in the country's agricultural crop production.
The report explained that the regions of northeastern and northwestern Syria will remain the most affected by food insecurity, as a result of the overlapping effects of years of conflict, the decline in economic activity, the high costs of agricultural production, and the dependence of a large percentage of the population on markets to secure their food needs.
In its report, the network said that Syrian families are facing accumulated economic and climate pressures, most notably the continuous collapse in the value of the pound and the rise in food and fuel prices, which have made the basic food basket out of reach for millions of families.
6 million Syrians in need of aid
The network estimated that the number of people in need of humanitarian assistance in Syria will range between 5 and 5.99 million during the period between October 2026 and January 2027, a period in which seasonal sources of income usually decline after the end of the harvest season, while the needs of families increase as winter enters.
The end of seasonal agricultural work reduces job opportunities and incomes for thousands of households that depend on agriculture and daily labor, while the prices of food, fuel and basic services remain at high levels compared to the population's incomes.
A large part of Syrian households, particularly poor and displaced households, rely mainly on buying food from markets, making them more vulnerable to price fluctuations and a decline in the value of real income.
Al-Shabaka calls for urgent international action
Any delay in relief intervention will exacerbate food insecurity, the report warned, calling for urgent international action beyond traditional measures, stressing the need to increase emergency international funding to ensure the continuation of aid programmes, which have been sharply curtailed over the past two years.
The report recommended direct support to the agricultural sector through the provision of seeds, fertilizers and fuel at subsidized prices, as crucial elements for restarting local production, which has been affected by drought and declining farmers' purchasing power. Boosting local production is the first line of defense against the worsening crisis, he said, especially in provinces that rely almost entirely on agriculture as a source of income.
The report pointed to the need to facilitate intra-provincial trade, in order to ensure the flow of basic commodities to the markets at stable prices, and to reduce the rapid rise in transportation and supply costs, calling for the removal of logistical and administrative obstacles that impede the arrival of foodstuffs and agricultural inputs, and the resolution of trade bottlenecks to prevent a new wave of price increases.
These measures, if implemented quickly and in a coordinated manner, could prevent the country from slipping into more dangerous levels of hunger, provide a ground for rebuilding the agricultural sector and strengthen the resilience of rural communities in the face of climate and economic changes.
FAO aims to support 9.8 million Syrians
FAO launched the "Syria Emergency and Resilience Plan (2026-2028)" with a required funding of US$ 286.7 million, targeting to support 9.8 million people to address acute food insecurity and the deterioration of the agricultural sector.
Previous UN estimates indicate that 16.7 million Syrians are in need of humanitarian assistance, while one in three suffer from extreme poverty, some 7.2 million people have been internally displaced, the number of refugees outside the country has reached 6.2 million, while hunger has reached unprecedented levels with 14.5 million people registered in a state of food insecurity, including 9.1 million suffering from acute insecurity, 1.3 million in a very dangerous situation, while 5.4 million remain at risk of slipping towards Hunger.
The agricultural sector has been severely damaged over the past decade, with irrigation networks destroyed and large areas of land damaged, while thousands of farmers have been forced to leave their lands due to security concerns and lack of support, leading to mass displacement from the countryside, UN reports said. Land contamination with mines is also hampering the cultivation of staple crops and access to pastures, in light of severe shortages of agricultural inputs, deterioration of markets and the effects of climate change such as drought and desertification.
She stressed that the agricultural sector remains a key pillar for recovery, as 45% of Syrians depend on it for their livelihood, making its revival an economic and social necessity to ensure food security and enhance social cohesion.
UNFPA Launches Urgent Appeal
The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), in a report covering the period between May 1 and June 30, 2026 and published on July 8, estimated that about 1.2 million people in the country are in need of urgent humanitarian assistance, including 295,000 women of childbearing age.
Since the beginning of this year, Syria has witnessed simultaneous crises, most notably the floods of the Euphrates River, and the influx of more than 460,000 people from Lebanon, which has put additional pressure on public services and affected the population's ability to access health care and basic services, especially sexual and reproductive health services and protection programs from gender-based violence.
The report added that the overlap of these crises has led to an increase in the needs of the most vulnerable groups, especially women, girls and youth affected by displacement or the decline in the capacity of service institutions to respond, at a time when these challenges intersect with FEWS NET's warnings of continued deterioration of food security and expanding humanitarian needs across Syria.