Mapping of Vulnerabilities: Unmasking the Syrian population

The three-year-old Syrian crisis has resulted in heightened protection concerns for all affected populations, IDPs, refugees, and conflict-impacted communities alike. As of February 2014, nearly 2.5 million people — three-quarters of whom are women and children — are estimated to have left the Syrian Arab Republic, seeking refuge in neighbouring countries. Within Syria, over 9.3 million people have been directly impacted by the violence, including more than 6.5 million IDPs. Categorising or labelling large and diverse groups of people as vulnerable can lead to fragmented and ineffective interventions, which ignore overlapping vulnerabilities and the changing nature of vulnerabilities over time, even during one specific crisis”. To effectively and strategically respond to the protection needs of populations across the conflict impacted region, decision makers must determine which vulnerable groups are most in need of humanitarian support and what the factors are that increase and compound their vulnerabilities. Only by understanding the specific vulnerabilities to multiple and multi-faceted risks which result from, and are enhanced by, the ongoing Syrian crisis can an accurate picture of needs be determined, and appropriate prioritization of the most vulnerable in the context of an ever-increasing demand and limited resources.