AKIPRESS.COM - A new report has been issued on the humanitarian crisis in Syria four years after the start of the country's civil war, which to date has claimed over 200,000 lives and displaced half of the country's 23 million population.

The study compiled by 21 various NGOs condemns the insufficient distribution of relief aid to those who most need it in and around Syria.

The report, findings of which will be printed in italic lettering throughout this article, accuses the UN Security Council of failing to implement the three resolutions adopted to help the humanitarian crisis, thus effectively failing to mitigate the situation. In 2014, Resolution 2139 was adopted and "brought with it much needed hope for the people in Syria." But in that year alone, at least 76,000 people were killed.

Despite the adoption of Presidential Statement 2013/15, Resolutions 2139 (2014) and 2165 (2014), the protection situation has worsened. Reportedly, over 1,000 civilian deaths have occurred in August (2014), the deadliest [month] since the start of the war. Civilians live in appalling conditions.

Robert Lindner, policy adviser for humanitarian campaigns of Oxfam Germany explains: "In Syria, the war just keeps going. More and more people are getting caught between the fronts and don't have adequate access to humanitarian help." And over 11 million people - around half of the country's population - are dependent upon aid. "At the end of the year 2013, three-fourths of the population was living in poverty and 200,000 people are facing starvation as they have inadequate access to food and drinking water," Lindner explained.

Around 7.6 million people are internally displaced and 3.7 have fled the country. The number of people living in areas that are difficult or impossible for aid agencies to reach has almost doubled from 2.5 million in 2013 to 4.8 million at the start of 2015.

This is partially because, as the report explains, "the government of Syria continues to hamper with the work of aid agencies," regularly preventing "international humanitarian workers from travelling" within the country.

Of 34 border crossings, only around 5 are currently open, meaning aid simply cannot get through. Unlike weapons. "So many weapons continue to flood into the country, that all parties involved in the conflict can engage in warfare," said Ekkehard Forberg, peace building expert and advocacy manager for World Vision.

Another point, the report points out, is that the Syria crisis "remains severely and chronically underfunded." According to the paper, the "international aid community will need $8.4bn to respond to the crisis - one of the largest-ever UN-led appeals."