In numbers
6.3 million Internally displaced in Syria
4.8 million Refugees in the Region
5.6 million Assisted in “Syria+5”
HIGHLIGHTS
In November 2016, WFP Executive Board approved two Protracted Relief and Recovery Operations (PRROs) – one for inside Syria and another for the region - as the new assistance frameworks for WFP’s response to the Syria regional crisis in 2017 and 2018.
Together, the PRROs will allow for longer-term planning in the region, enabling WFP to better meet immediate needs and more proactively co-create programmes with our partners that further self-sufficiency and reduce dependency on external assistance.
Funding update
Under the current funding situation WFP will be able to provide assistance to refugees in the region for the month of January and partially February 2017.
An additional USD 162 million are urgently needed to ensure coverage of assistance throughout the first three months of 2017.
Inside Syria, current resources are sufficient to cover January and February requirements, albeit at a slightly reduced food basket (1,500 kcal). Given the 2-3 months lead time to bring food into country, new funding commitments are urgently needed, with USD 67 million required by January.
2016 in Review
In 2016, WFP provided uninterrupted and crucial lifeline assistance to some 6 million people in Syria and across the region through in-kind food assistance and monthly cash-based transfers (CBT).
Some of WFP’s key achievements include: building national safety nets in partnership with governments; implementing a retail strategy; and using common platforms to deliver cash alongside more traditional life-saving activities.
In Turkey, WFP has implemented the Emergency Social Safety Net (ESSN), funded by European Union
Humanitarian Aid (ECHO), in partnership with the Disaster and Emergency Management Authority of the Turkish Prime Minister (AFAD), the Ministry of Family and Social Policies and the Turkish Red Crescent. Building on existing voucher schemes, the ESSN is a hybrid social assistance endeavor anchored on and aligned with government systems, integrating humanitarian safeguards. The ESSN seeks to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of national social assistance systems for long-term sustainability. It targets vulnerable Syrians residing outside camps while promoting social cohesion and positively impacting host communities with an injection of funds into local economies.
In Lebanon, WFP integrated the cash-based transfer (CBT) modality into national social safety nets.
Partnering with the National Poverty Targeting Programme, WFP provided technical guidance and CBTs to 43,000 vulnerable Lebanese.
The Retail Strategy is a prime example of WFP’s engagement with the private sector under WFP’s five-year strategic plan, Vision 2020. Within the retail sector, WFP engages with approximately 700 stores in Lebanon and Jordan alone. Since 2012, WFP has transitioned from in-kind assistance to more efficient CBTs, which now account for 99 percent of WFP assistance in Jordan, Lebanon and Turkey. Cash-based assistance empowers beneficiaries while supporting local markets. Where local markets are poorly developed or inefficient, there is an inability to adapt to beneficiaries’ needs and inflating prices. As a result, refugees commonly face severe constraints on purchasing.
Recognizing that cash assistance works best when markets operate efficiently, the Retail Strategy is designed to help markets function with higher efficiency and transparency.
From supply to point of sale, WFP provides training, technology, and access to crucial consumer spending data.
The Retail Strategy helps businesses plan and react to market changes, in turn stimulating competition, increasing market efficiency and beneficiaries’ purchasing power alike.
Early results are promising for both beneficiaries and businesses. Retail Strategy efforts have been shown to increase beneficiary purchasing power by 8-12 percent, while helping businesses access an expanded customer base and increase profits. In practical terms, this translates to thousands of extra meals on beneficiaries’ plates. There is further potential to develop the retail sector through training and job creation.
In Lebanon, WFP, UNICEF, UNHCR and the Lebanon Cash Consortium signed an agreement on a first-of-its-kind common card, unifying the way aid is delivered and simplifying refugee access to humanitarian assistance.
With the introduction of the common card, economically vulnerable refugees will benefit from various humanitarian programmes through a single medium. Refugees will have access to food assistance and monthly multi-purpose cash transfers. Children will be encouraged to enroll and stay at school. Winter assistance will be provided from November to March. Using a single card, refugees can redeem their food assistance in any of WFP’s 480 contracted shops or withdraw regularly uploaded funds at any ATM machine across Lebanon.
In Jordan, in partnership with UNHCR and IrisGuard, an iris-scan payment system was rolled out in refugee camps. The system requires beneficiaries registered with UNHCR to undergo a biometric authentication of their identity before accessing WFP entitlements in partner supermarkets. With enhanced data protection, privacy and efficiency at the check-out, the pilot in Azraq camp has brought notable gains in cost-efficiency. With the introduction of iris-scan payment, the voucher redemption rate by beneficiaries decreased by an average of 14 percent per month. This was likely due to the increased level of identity verification at the point of sale.
WFP’s response remained flexible, switching between assistance modalities as the situation dictated. Following a security incident in June 2016, distributions at the Berm between Syria and Jordan were halted. In August, WFP responded by using two 70-metre cranes to deliver in-kind food assistance to over 78,000 stranded Syrian refugees. In Syria, WFP continued to meet the food needs of almost 4 million people every month, including those in besieged areas. By the end of November, WFP had completed 156 airdrop rotations, airdropping sufficient quantities to provide three-month food rations for all 110,000 people in need in Deir-ez-Zour City, in addition to relief items on behalf of other humanitarian organizations.
The first airdrop mission began in February, 2016. This was the first humanitarian assistance for Deir-ez-Zour City since March 2014.
WFP also began implementing livelihood activities to build the self-reliance of refugees, including a skills-exchange project in Jordan and rapid income-generation projects in Lebanon and Syria.
WFP continued to do what it does best: to respond to the fluidity of the situation and deliver the right assistance to the right people, at the right time. We have been able to do so thanks to continued support from our donors, greatly contributing to the stabilization across the region.