World Vision Syria Response (WVSR) continues to address the ongoing humanitarian crisis in Syria, where 16.7 million people, including 7.4 million children, require assistance. In FY2025, WVSR supported over 4.2 million individuals across Syria, Jordan, and Türkiye through programs in health, education, WASH, child protection, and livelihoods.

This reflection marks the anniversary of the Syria conflict while highlighting signs of renewed hope and change for Syrian communities. Despite ongoing needs, the progress seen in education, nutrition, and essential services signals new beginnings and resilience for the Syrian people.

Nokuthula S. Khumalo, Technical Director Global Humanitarian Surge, highlights that in prolonged crises like Syria, it is not organisational charts that protect children, but trust. As humanitarian systems shift under funding pressure and political change, Thula reflects on how internal instability shows up in delayed care, weakened safeguarding, and broken continuity for children. Opening offices is quick; earning staff confidence after years of uncertainty is not. Thula emphasises that listening, presence and honest communication matter more than procedural fixes when certainty is impossible. Fourteen years into the Syria crisis, if children are to experience continuity, safety, and care during humanitarian transitions, then staff stability and trust must be funded as deliberately as security, supply chains or monitoring systems. Trusted frontline teams are the backbone of safe, child-focused action.

In 2025, WV Syria Response reached 4.22M people despite crisis, expanding access, meeting communities, and reaffirming its mission to help children thrive.

15 years after the Syria conflict began, millions of children are still paying the price. Renewed escalations in the Middle East threaten families already coping with hunger, displacement, and trauma. Today, over 7 million children in Syria need humanitarian assistance, and in 2025, World Vision Syria Response reached 2.5 million children with food, water, education, protection, and psychosocial support. Sustained international support is essential to meet the needs of Syria’s children and help them rebuild their lives after years of crisis.

At the Humanitarian Networks and Partnerships Week (HNPW) 2026, World Vision demonstrated how child-centred, evidence-driven approaches can deliver greater impact, efficiency, and resilience at a moment when humanitarian needs are rising and resources are under intense strain. Across seven high-impact sessions, in partnership with UN agencies like WFP, FAO, clusters and networks like School Meals Coalition, Food Security Cluster and the Cash Learning and Partnership (CALP) Network, World Vision representatives helped shape global conversations on the Humanitarian Reset, bringing practical field experience, strong partnerships, and a clear focus on outcomes for children and communities.

The escalation of hostilities in Lebanon is intense and rapidly expanding, resulting in nearly 820,000 forcibly displaced people - more than 200,000 of them children - in less than two weeks. Evacuation orders are expanding, with the country to the south launching the ‘South of Zahrani River’ initiative. Evacuation orders now encompass the entire region south of the Litani River, triggering waves of mass displacement as well as repeated displacement among already vulnerable families. In several Christian-majority towns in the South, residents initially resisted leaving their homes, but were ultimately evacuated under the escort of UNIFIL for civilian protection. Hostilities are increasingly affecting areas beyond the ‘traditional’ frontline zones, a troubling trend that points to a more aggressive escalation than that of 2024. Recent airstrikes hit the neighborhoods of Haret Saida, Tyre, Aramoun, Ramlet El Bayda, areas deemed safer, in one case targeting a car nearby displaced families staying in tents. Targeting of central Beirut is new - with strikes on hotels and residential buildings that inevidably affect civilians in the surrounding areas. An estimated have been killed, with 81 children killed since March 1. UNICEF estimates that 10 children per day are killed. Lebanon’s Ministry of Social Affairs reports 822,600 internally displaced people self-registered on the Government’s digital platform, indicating that overall displacement is significantly higher than that captured through collective shelter reporting. In addition, almost 84,000 Syrians and more than 8,000 Lebanese have crossed into Syria since 2 March. Violations to International Humanitarian Law continue, with frontline responders at great risk. To date, 14 paramedics were killed, including one member of the Lebanese Red Cross, underscoring the growing risks faced by emergency personnel.

World Vision Ukraine has supported over 2.3 million people since 2022, providing essential aid and protection to conflict-affected communities across most regions of Ukraine.

World Vision Iraq supports vulnerable communities since 2014, promoting resilience, recovery, and child well-being through multi-sector programmes and advocacy.