On 26 January 2016 we responded to a funding alert for escalating food insecurity and increased risk of malnutrition for people trapped in under siege conditions in the towns of Moadamiyet al-Sham and Daraya in rural Damascus, Syria. According to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) 4.5 million people in Syria are considered hard to reach, of which at least 400,000 are totally besieged.

The inhabitants of Moadamiyet al-Sham and Daraya are trapped under siege conditions, and since December 2015 access to the towns has been completely closed. Food insecurity is escalating particularly for the most vulnerable people and the risk of malnutrition is rising particularly amongst children.

In 2016, for the fifth year in a row, the requirements set out in the UN-coordinated appeal in response the emergency within Syria have risen, now totalling US$3.2 billion.

According to the UN OCHA’s Financial Tracking Service (FTS), seven donors have reported commitments/contributions totalling US$21.5 million to Syria since the start of 2016. This funding picture is likely to change significantly in the coming weeks following the Syria pledging conference that will be held on 5 February in London, UK.

GHA AND THE START NETWORK

The GHA Programme is partnering with the START network to help to inform its funding allocation decisions. The START network is a consortium of British-based humanitarian INGOs, which has recently launched its own fund to help fill funding gaps and enable rapid response to under-reported crises where need is great.

When the START members issue a funding alert, we produce (within 12 hours) a rapid overview of the humanitarian funding picture – recent funding, an overview of appeals and funds, and analysis of donor trends. The analysis is targeted not only at the START network but also to a wider set of stakeholders engaged in these crises – including donors, humanitarian organisations, analysts, advocates and citizens.