Some 6.9 million Syrian children urgently need humanitarian assistance. UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russell gave that figure Wednesday, at the end of an official field visit to the country. The scale is stark. Syria still has much of its basic infrastructure to rebuild.
In an exclusive interview with SANA, Russell said her mission focused on reviewing UNICEF's operations, strengthening technical partnerships and expanding institutional capacity to meet children's growing needs. The visit and interview took place on Sept. 30, 2026, one day before October 1, 2026.
The Scale of the Need
UNICEF's programs in Syria cover school rehabilitation, routine childhood immunization campaigns and nutritional support for vulnerable families. The agency also runs vocational skills training and youth empowerment programs that go beyond primary education.
Russell singled out one project. UNICEF provided technical support to reactivate the Jobar water pumping station in Damascus, restoring safe drinking water access for more than 1 million residents in the capital and surrounding countryside. A basic utility had stopped serving a large urban population.
Environmental strain appears elsewhere in the record. A photograph dated August 4, 2025 pictured children by the dry riverbed of the Orontes (Assi) river during an extreme drought in Jisr al-Shughur. That's one year and 58 days before October 1, 2026.
Access to quality education, primary healthcare, clean water and adequate sanitation, along with formal schooling, remains fundamental to children's well-being, development and long-term economic prospects, Russell said.
Governments and Responsibility
Russell was direct about how UNICEF works. The organization gets its strongest results when it works directly with national governments, she said, and governments bear ultimate responsibility for their young populations. She described UNICEF's partnership with Syrian authorities as strong. She also praised continued coordination in health, education and child protection.
The agency says it's working with the Syrian government and local partners to rebuild child-support systems and restore essential services across the country. Russell reaffirmed UNICEF's commitment to strengthening government capacity and institutional systems so they can serve children better.
Returns and Reintegration
Russell said every refugee or displaced person she had met expressed a strong desire to return home. She called facilitating families' voluntary return to Syria critical. A key challenge, she said, is supporting the state institutions that help returnees, particularly children, reintegrate into normal life.
Investment in children is essential to Syria's recovery, Russell said. She also described a strong sense of optimism and enormous potential across the country. International partners, she said, must work together to create an environment where children can grow and thrive.
The interview doesn't say how any of this will be funded or what conditions might attach to international support. Nor does it explain how the 6.9 million figure was calculated.
Why This Matters: Russell's emphasis on state institutions puts governance in focus. When water stations, schools and clinics fail, children bear the cost, and displaced families have little reason to go home. From a security perspective, durable stability in a fractured country depends on whether national institutions can deliver basic services and absorb returnees. Aid agencies can restore a pumping station or run a vaccination drive. Lasting results depend on the capacity of the authorities they partner with, and on how international partners decide to engage. Russell herself said governments carry ultimate responsibility for their children.