The humanitarian situation in Syria is the worst it's been since the conflict started in 2011.

The UN aims to target 10.5 million people with humanitarian assistance in 2021 at a cost of $4.2 billion, a ten percent increase compared to 2020.

Donor funding, on the other hand, has gone the other way.

So far, only 15% of the required amount for 2021 has been funded. To give you a sense of how low that is, I compare this with the share required for 2020 and funded by 20 June 2020.

Assuming the "Humanitarian Response Plan" required for each country is reflective of the depth of the humanitarian crisis, Syrians are the least lucky in the world! Yet Syria received relatively less funding than Yemen, South Sudan, Somalia, Afghanistan, Sudan, and Nigeria.

Could this funding hesitancy be due to the UN cross-border vote in Syria next month?

It's appalling that Russia aids Syria's butcher in killing his people, sends virtually no aid, and gets to dictate how others can help!

For more on this, Natasha Hall at the Center for Strategic & International Studies (CSIS)