Amid a tense and fragile security situation, both male and female participants in this rapid gender analysis (RGA) identified their main concerns as their loss of income and livelihoods and the increased cost of food. The intensifying food crisis is further aggravated by disruptions to wheat production, climate change, continued insecurity and the war in Ukraine, which has significantly reduced Syria’s grain imports.
The fragility of the food system, combined with the water crisis and the near collapse of the labor market, has aggravated chronic food insecurity and malnutrition in the region, leading to profound short and long-term impacts on health and resilience. One in three children face malnutrition, and those under five need nutritional interventions, as do pregnant and lactating women.
Most households that took part in this RGA said their food needs were not being met despite aid distributions. Female-headed households, widows and people with disabilities are particularly vulnerable. About 38% of households living in camps for internally displaced people (IDPs) are female-headed.
The number of female heads of household and other women in the labor market has increased, but limitations on women’s mobility, economic participation and decision making persist, as do social and cultural expectations about the role of men as main decision makers and community leaders.
All respondents said the conflict was increasingly restricting their freedom of movement. Women’s main fears in terms of their mobility related to harassment and exploitation, and men’s to kidnap or recruitment by armed actors. All respondents identified lack of transportation, high costs and insecurity as the main obstacles to accessing health services.