With the crisis in Syria now into its seventh year, the situation inside Syria and for refugees and host communities in the surrounding countries continues to be critical. Inside Syria poverty rates are estimated at over 84 per cent, while refugees have grown increasingly vulnerable with the vast majority living below the poverty line and struggling to afford essentials such as food, adequate housing and health care. Meanwhile, host communities inside Syria and in particular countries like Jordan, Lebanon and Turkey are coping with tremendous additional hardships and pressures posed by the Syria crisis in terms of resources, the economy, and on basic services and social infrastructure.
In the countries surrounding Syria, UNDP’s response has relied on its close partnership with UNHCR around the Regional Refugee and Resilience Plan (3RP) to support national governments to address the fallout in an alliance with some 200 implementing partners. Within this complementary approach with UNHCR, UNDP focuses on the livelihoods component, adapted to the realities of each country and addressing the needs of host communities and refugees.