Mr. Moutaz Adham:

The question as to whether the regime cares is a political one, but I will address it from the humanitarian perspective in terms of our experience in dealing with the local authorities and technical line ministries, if not the regime itself. As outlined in our reports on access from Damascus, we have found allies in local authorities and technical ministries. There are different modalities for international NGOs operating from Damascus, and one of these is that they deal directly with the line ministries, which is very effective in the context of access. We have found allies in the local authorities and technical line ministries in the delivery of the humanitarian response. Of course, there is much more to be done and we are not at a point where we are completely satisfied, but we are able, through dialogue with the technical line ministries and local authorities, to achieve more access in Damascus and in Government-controlled areas.

We are not present in the north west or north east of the country, but in Government-controlled areas the biggest provider of basic services is still the public sector, although in the past year this has diminished greatly. Subsidies have been lifted or partially lifted on items like bread, heating fuel and so on. Nonetheless, the public sector is still a big provider of public services. Recently we have seen people queueing for hours and hours to collect a simple loaf of bread. We have seen drivers queueing outside gas stations for hours, and sometimes overnight, for 20 litres of fuel for their vehicles. It is becoming more and more difficult and challenging for the public sector to provide services. As I mentioned, the reasons for this are very complicated and difficult for humanitarian actors to analyse. It could be the impact of ten years of conflict, the effect of the sanctions or the mismanagement of the public sector.