The ongoing violence in Syria has left millions of people displaced . And while many Syrians fled to neighboring countries to escape the bloodshed , others have remained despite being in harm 's way , though they have been forced from their homes . According to the United Nations ( U.N ) , an estimated 4.25 million people are homeless inside the country -- half of whom are believed to be children . Hundreds of thousands of men , women and children have been left vulnerable after being forced to relocate from their homes , often multiple times . Without adequate shelter , food and medical care , many people are now heavily relying on aid agencies to provide basic amenities . The family of Ayesha ( not her real name ) is among them . Ayesha says she fled her hometown in northern Syria after a bomb destroyed her home , killing two of her teenage children . She now lives in an abandoned building site with her remaining children and grandchildren and she fears for her family 's safety , which is why she has asked not to use her real name . Her four-year-old granddaughter carries a physical scar of the ongoing conflict -- after being burned during shelling . Recalling the days she lived in her own house and farmland , Ayesha says : `` You have five people being killed , at times six or 10 and 15 . Every day they targeted us with bombs , missiles and snipers . '' Prison inmates suffer the most in Syria . Ayesha is one among the 6.8 million people the U.N. deems to be in urgent need of protection and assistance . The destruction of homes and land has forced many others to abandon their old lives . Zenat ( not her real name ) , a young mother , says she fled after her house was bombed . Her four-year-old son suffers from burns from that day . `` He was burned while he was at the house , they bombed the house , which collapsed on him , and there is no available treatment for him , '' she says . Syria 's medical system has suffered a heavy blow in this nearly three-year-old conflict . According to the World Health Organization ( WHO ) , more than 50 % of Syrian hospitals have been destroyed or are non-operational . 7-year-old 's story shows pain , worry of Syrian refugees . That means , for a mother like Zenat , immediate medical care is unavailable even in dire situations . `` We did not get any help , there are no doctors , where shall we take him ? My heart burned where I saw him this way , it was very hard feeling for me , '' she recalls . According to data given to the WHO by Syrian health authorities , as of July 2013 , 60 % of the 91 public hospitals across the country have been affected by the conflict . Of those , 20 have been damaged , and 35 are out of service . Many Syrian doctors have also fled the country and for aid agencies trying to provide medical relief to the needy , Syria remains one of the most dangerous places to work . Some of the heavily damaged towns in Syria have even less access to healthcare . Syria 's health ministry estimates that in the governorates of Deir-ez-Zo , Idleb and Aleppo , 70 % of health centers are either damaged or out of service , the WHO said . World Food Programme beefing up its Syria program . Aid needed . The United Nations Security Council is trying to ensure aid reaches those suffering inside Syria -- calling on the government to allow cross-border deliveries and on all combatants to agree on humanitarian pauses in fighting for aid convoys . Regardless of the dangers of operating in the middle of a battlefield , several Non-Governmental Organizations ( NGOs ) are trying to establish medical care , with some hospitals even operated secretly . British-Syrian run charity Hand in Hand for Syria is one of them . It helps operates 37 clinics and hospitals within Syria , supported largely by donated medical supplies and volunteer doctors . In a makeshift clinic in Idleb province , Doctor Mohammed Abdul Salam , a pediatrician and medical director of a children 's clinic run by the charity says : `` There were no incubators in areas outside the government 's control for premature babies . `` In besieged areas , private hospitals used to charge high prices and people could not afford the costs of care , and that 's why there was high infant mortality . '' The U.N. body for assistance in Syria -- the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs -- estimates that for 2013 alone aid of $ 1.4 billion is needed to deal with the growing humanitarian crisis inside the country . Destabilization of Syria 's population will have an impact for many , many years to come . But for now , immediate assistance is needed for millions living under dire conditions . How to help Syrian refugees .
The United Nations estimates that Hundreds of thousands people are internally displaced in Deir-ez-Zo . Many people are now heavily relying on aid agencies to provide basic amenities . The U.N. says that for the days alone , aid of $ 1.4 billion is needed to deal with the crisis . The WHO says 70 % of hospitals have been damaged or are non-operational .