DEC member organisations look to extend Syrian appeal.

The Disasters Emergency Committee’s (DEC) Syrian Appeal could be extended for at least six months after the campaign announced taking £25 million across the UK over the last year – £2.1m of which was from Scotland.

A spokesperson for the DEC said there could be moves to extend the appeal as fighting in the region continues into its third year and shows no sign of abating.

Providing aid in a war zone always involves some risks but it can mean the difference between life and death

This week the appeal marked its first anniversary and said it has helped over 300,000 people, mostly inside Syria.

Since the launch of the appeal, the situation in Syria has deteriorated significantly, with over nine million people now having been forced from their homes.

Typically DEC appeal fundraising remains open for six months but because of the exceptional circumstances, the DEC took the decision to extend the fundraising period until at least the end of March 2014.

However the 11 members are in discussions over whether to extend it again and will decide before the end of the month.

The agencies have all committed to continue to provide aid using DEC funds until March 2015 and most will continue work beyond that date as individual organisations.

Of the appeal funds spent so far, over half has paid for the most basic support – food, water and sanitation while more than a quarter of the rest paid for emergency shelter and healthcare.

Although 86% of the people helped with DEC funds were inside Syria, security and access restrictions have meant that many of those worst affected could not be reached with aid.

DEC chief executive Saleh Saeed said: “The UK public can be very proud that their support for the DEC has allowed our member agencies to play such a vital role in responding to the crisis.

“In order to help as many people worst affected by the conflict as possible, some agencies have had to form new partnerships and monitor aid delivery remotely.

“Providing aid in a war zone always involves some risks but it can mean the difference between life and death.”

An independent evaluation of the DEC response published in December 2013 found that member agencies and their partners represented a large proportion of the total response to the crisis.

It also found a great deal of innovative work taking place, high levels of collaboration between agencies and a willingness to both learn from past experience and adapt to local conditions.

“We know our member agencies have the necessary expertise to take the best possible decisions under these very challenging circumstances,” Saeed added.

Syria: three years on Three years of war have had a devastating impact on many Syrian families and have left more than nine million people in need of aid. In many parts of the country the health system has effectively collapsed, water supplies have been cut and food is in short supply. Since the beginning of the conflict, around 1.2 million houses have been damaged, with 400,000 totally destroyed. An estimated 6.5 million people are displaced inside Syria, and 2.5 million people have now fled to the neighbouring countries of Jordan, Lebanon, Turkey and Iraq. Refugees are arriving at camps which are already stretched to capacity, and many families are living in crude shelters they have built themselves.