The War on Hunger in Syria: Global Studies - Sustainable Development Goals

The War on Hunger in Syria Zachary Miller, Justin Naylor, Maya Wehrmann, Britney Wilson, Connor Bannias, and Andrew Hoffman

A) Armed Conflict – Location Event Dataset • Armed conflict is one of the major factors responsible for hunger and food insecurity in several countries, including Syria.

• Since March 15, 2011, when the Syrian Civil War started...

• There have been 17,830 battles, along with 101 riots, 1,399 protests, 52,521 explosions/remote violence, 4,729 violence against civilians, and 4,945 strategic developments.

• This has added up to a total of 81,525 total armed conflict events over the span of less than a decade and has resulted in 106, 416 reported fatalities.

• Some cities are displayed as armed conflict "hotspots" within Syria due to its continuous war on hunger.

B) Food Security Insufficient Food Consumption -Syria is currently facing a huge growth in poverty and food insecurity.

There was an estimate made that 9.3 million Syrians are now food insecure. This is because many do not have the wealth or resources to supply themselves a meal. This number has increased 1.4 million in only the last 6 months and is the highest number ever recorded. The reason Syria is dealing with such a high number of insufficient food consumption is because of the violence and wars that disrupted the country over the past decade.

C) Nutrition • Malnutrition is a major issue in Syria.

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One of the main reasons we see kids suffering from Acute and Chronic Malnutrition is the rise of food prices.

• Unfortunately, kids are the most affected as they are not able to get the nutrition they need to grow and • These families already do not have enough money and with increasing food prices, mothers cannot feed their kids develop. let alone themselves.

• Among the children below the age of 5 in Syria, 27.9% are diagnosed and suffer from Chronic Malnutrition.

• It is also found in Syria that 11.5% of children that are below the age of 5 are battling Acute Malnutrition.

• Some families do not have enough money to even buy bread.

• A) Acute malnutrition: • Results in extreme weight loss

• B) Chronic malnutrition: • Occurs to kids if they are not properly nourished the first 32 months of their lives • Cognitive development is stunted and is not reversible • Physical development is also stunted and not reversible

Nutrition Continued:

D) Food Security Trends ( Negative coping strategies) -There is no room for unemployment, so households will continue to use their negative coping strategies because of the changes occurring within Syria.

-Over one third of the population is currently insufficient with the security of their food and people engage increasingly in negative coping strategies to get by.

E) Macro-Economic •

A) About 31% of imported food for domestic supply vs. its own food production for domestic supply.

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B) Currency exchange has gone down but has been slowly increasing overtime.

• This affects trade due to it being more expensive as their currency is less valuable than other currencies.

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C) The headline and food inflation has been avidly increasing as time goes on.

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As inflation grows, food prices rise.

Less and less Syrians can provide food for their families.

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D.) From 1983 to 2016, Syria averaged a trade balance of – 70,186.40 Syrian pound millions.

• In 1990, they had an all-time high of 82,856. 40 Syrian pounds.

• More recently, in 2016 they had an all-time low of – 1,909,953 Syrian Pounds.

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E.) Recessionary gap, prices rise to try and fix this, however, the gap has only gotten bigger

F) Hazards • Syria has been a hotspot for many devastating events; such as threats of fighting and explosions. • Groups at higher risk to these explosions tend to be a) young children that could grab harmful items b) farmers who dig the land for planting c) people who are traveling and come across an IDP

G) Rain • Syria has a Mediterranean climate on the coast which is characterized by its long hot summers with cool and mild winters. It also has an arid subtropical climate which had moderately cold winters and scorching hot summers.

• Yearly rainfall in Syria is averaged around 770mm or 30in, some more inland provinces such as Damascus or Homs have an average rainfall range from 127-25mm( 5/1in) or even less than the range.

• In recent years, the average rainfall has been decreasing by 18.23mm(0.72in). In the northern and central regions of Syria there is a higher average of autumn rainfall.

• In the western regions among the Mediterranean sea on average have a higher rainfall of 25mm(0.98in).

Rainfall Graphs

G) Vegetation • There have been changes in vegetation as well as displacement of soil layers on the country’s landscape. These environmental pressures are considered to be both serious issues in relation to the war in Syria.

• Approximately 13 million people were forced to relocated and about 8 million of those civilians are residing within the country of Syria.

• Since the beginning of the conflict in Syria, the coastal zone of the country has gained 1.4 million refugees.

• This has resulted in a growing demand of ecological resources, which has increased the interaction of humans and the environment, including its natural resources. Therefore, affecting the vegetation and soil in Syria.

Vegetation (continued) • The coastal zone of Syria serves as a key component for the country’s economy through tourism and agriculture.

• The western coastal region of Syria contains above 90% of the vegetation located within the country.

H) Other – The Impact of Covid-19 on Hunger • Syria is also being affected by COVID-19.

• There are 7,973 confirmed cases that have been reported.

• Death is also on the rise in this country with 422 deaths.

• Cases are still occurring within Syria and therefore, contributing to the ongoing hunger crisis.

• This pandemic has sent a large number of countries into recessions and economic shutdown along with negatively impacting the fight on hunger by increasing food insecurity.

Sources •

https://hungermap.wfp.org

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Armed Conflict:

• https://acleddata.com/dashboard/#/dashboard • https://www.wfp.org/publications/monitoring-food-security-countriesconflict-situations • https://www.geneva-academy.ch/research/publications/detail/444the-syrian-armed-conflict-nearing-the-end • https://www.ifpri.org/sites/default/files/ghi/2015/feature_3710.html • https://reliefweb.int/report/syrian-arab-republic/accountabilitystarvation-crimes-syria • https://reliefweb.int/report/syrian-arab-republic/hunger-weapon-warhow-food-insecurity-has-been-exacerbated-syria-and

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https://www.unicef.org/press-releases/child-malnutrition-levelsincrease-sharply-besieged-syrian-town-east-Ghouta

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https://reliefweb.int/report/syrian-arab-republic/hidden-hunger-syrialook-malnutrition-across-syria-focus-under-twos

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Food Security Trends:

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https://hno-syria.org/data/downloads/fss.pdf

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Macro-Economic: https://www.france24.com/en/20200610-syrians-fear-hunger-asrecord

• -devaluation-sparks-protests

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Food Security

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https://www.wfp.org/countries/syrian-arab-republic

• https://www.mei.edu/publications/how-crisis-lebanon-impactingsyrias-economy NewSyrian500back.png

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Nutrition

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https://reliefweb.int/report/syrian-arab-republic/explosive-violenceand-its-impact-malnutrition-Syria

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http://www.emro.who.int/syr/syria-news/aynaa-story.html

https://www.nationsencyclopedia.com/economies/Asia-and-thePacific/Syria-INTERNATIONAL-TRADE.html

Sources • Hazards:

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Weatheronline.co.uk. “Syria.” WeatherOnline, www.weatheronline.co. uk/reports/climate/Syria.htm.

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“World Bank Climate Change Knowledge Portal.” Homepage, climateknowledgeportal.world bank.org/country/syria/climate-data-historical.

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https://www.unicef.org/mena/stories/children-and-families-acrosssyria-risk-explosive-hazards-yasmines-story

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https://unmas.org/en/programmes/syria

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Rain/Climate:

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“World Bank Climate Change Knowledge Portal.” Homepage, climateknowledgeportal.worldbank.org /country/syria/climate-data-historical.

“Climate and Average Monthly Weather in Damascus, Syria.” World Weather & Climate Information, weather-andclimate.com/average-monthly-Rainfall-Temperature

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Vegetation:

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https://www.researchgate.net/publication/323242610_Impacts_of_w ar_in_Syria_on_vegetation_dynamics_and_erosion_risks_in_Safita_ar ea_Tartous_Syria/link/5c21916d92851c22a344400f/download https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10113-018-1280-3 https://www.unhcr.org/en-us/syria-emergency.html

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Other

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https://www.actionagainsthunger.org/publication/2020/07/covid-19impact-seeds-future-hunger-pandemic

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https://syriaaccountability.org/updates/2020/11/19/hunger-andcovid-19-syrians-are-facing-overlapping-humanitarian-crises/

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“Climate and Average Monthly Weather in Damascus, Syria.” World Weather & Climate Information, weather-and-climate.com/averagemonthly-Rainfall-Temperature

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•“Climate - Syria.” Syria Climate: Average Weather, Temperature, Precipitation, Best Time, www.climatestotravel.com/climate/syria.