BIG PICTURE

The conflict in Syria has entered its 10th grim year. Since the first uprisings in March 2011, nearly 400,000 people have been killed and more than 11 million Syrians have been displaced internally and abroad in the worst humanitarian crisis of the 21st century.

Those that remain in the ravaged country grapple with severe shortages of food and medicine. Half of health facilities are non-functional and an estimated 3 million Syrian children – in and outside the country – are not receiving an education, according to the United Nations children's agency, UNICEF.

Syria’s neighbours, Jordan, Turkey and Lebanon, are also paying a heavy price for the war, hosting millions of refugees at huge cost to their own economies and development. And while donors have been generous in their support, major funding gaps remain.

According to the United Nation’s refugee agency, UNHCR, new money is urgently needed to shore up vulnerable families and stop more children being forced into labour, early marriage and other forms of exploitation.

The damage to Syria will take decades to repair. But timely support now can give future generations of children the means and opportunity to progress, and a path to a better future. — PA