The humanitarian crises in the Middle East and North Africa continue to affect a staggering number of people. More than 71 million vulnerable people, including over 35 million children, are in need of assistance. The conflicts in the Syrian Arab Republic and Yemen, volatility in Libya and upsurges of violence in the State of Palestine are exposing children to extreme risks, including death, injury and displacement, as well as forced recruitment into armed groups and early marriage. In Yemen, where the response is challenged by the collapsing health system, millions are facing acute food insecurity, the country is confronting one of the largest cholera outbreaks on record, and nearly half a million children are at risk of severe acute malnutrition. In the Syrian Arab Republic, years of conflict have left more than 2 million children out of school and 3.3 million children exposed to explosive hazards. In Iraq, nearly 1 million children remain displaced, mainly in Ninewa, Dahuk, Erbil, Kirkuk, Salah al Din, Sulaymaniyah and Baghdad. Against the backdrop of ongoing violence, the region is also confronting natural disasters and infectious disease outbreaks, including in Djibouti and the Sudan. In 2018, Djibouti was affected by both drought and a cyclone.
Regional humanitarian strategy
The Middle East and North Africa region has the greatest concentration of humanitarian needs in the world, with two Level 3 emergencies (in the Syrian Arab Republic and Yemen), two Level 2 emergencies (in Iraq and Syrian refugee-hosting countries), and many countries facing protracted conflicts, civil unrest and/or political transition. To enhance the delivery of essential services to the most disadvantaged children and marginalized populations, the 2019 Middle East and North Africa Regional Office strategy will further scale up timely and coordinated technical and quality assurance support for all country offices in the region. This will include supporting preparedness, contingency planning and emergency response, including strengthening disability-inclusive responses and mainstreaming gender, and providing guidance on linking humanitarian response with longer-term development goals to build resilience against shocks. In addition to supporting responses to large-scale crises, UNICEF will address the less visible but no less urgent crises that often receive less assistance than required, such as in Algeria, Djibouti, the State of Palestine and the Sudan. The strategy also focuses on coordinating the cross-border response to the Syrian crisis, and enhancing country office programme excellence by ensuring the quality of strategic thinking in programme design, implementation, monitoring, evaluation and reporting, and alignment and compliance with UNICEF’s global guiding frameworks, policies and standards. This is in addition to supporting the No Lost Generation initiative and the newly launched Generation Unlimited initiative; facilitating the exchange of regional lessons learned; strengthening national systems; and investing in the localization of humanitarian and development programming to improve service delivery. Evidence generation will be further enhanced to inform private and public advocacy. A key approach will be to strengthen financial and non-financial partnerships with the International Committee of the Red Cross, the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, Médecins Sans Frontières and humanitarian think tanks to better promote children’s rights and well-being. Country offices will be encouraged to further systematize community engagement and accountability to affected people and communities, including through communication for development and platforms for adolescent participation, such as peace and reconciliation efforts. Furthermore, strengthened advice will be provided to support the development and roll-out of institutional humanitarian policies to ensure that country offices are well-equipped to deliver in complex and high-threat environments, and that the regional situation is accurately reflected and considered in the development of global policies.
Results from 2018
As of 31 October 2018, UNICEF received US$3.6 million for its US$2 million appeal (180 per cent funded). The Middle East and North Africa Regional Office provided high- and medium-risk countries with timely support to carry out integrated and resilience-focused humanitarian programming, key preparedness actions to mitigate and respond to risks and scaled-up emergency response. The Regional Office and 16 country offices completed their emergency preparedness plans, and country offices received support to enhance evidence-based advocacy highlighting grave violations of children’s rights and their urgent needs. Country offices were also supported to strengthen programme target setting, improve gender and adolescent programming and enhance resource mobilization and the timely allocation of critical funds. In addition, training was provided on humanitarian policies, laws and principles, and best practices were shared from regional operations, including through thematic webinars and the Regional Emergency Network Meeting, in which emergency and operations focal points from 15 country offices participated. The Regional Office also provided regional senior management and country offices with timely and quality analysis of political and security events with humanitarian implications and guidance on humanitarian and public advocacy. UNICEF’s efforts to strengthen the linkages between humanitarian action and development programming in the region were highlighted in both internal and external fora.
Funding requirements
UNICEF is requesting US$12.5 million to provide technical support and coordination for emergency preparedness, response and resilience building in the Middle East and North Africa. The protracted nature of the region’s crises have necessitated a complex regional agenda. Regional funding will therefore be critical to supporting countries facing Level 3 emergencies, as well as countries facing small-or medium-scale emergencies that do not have individual 2019 inter-agency or Humanitarian Action for Children appeals. UNICEF acknowledges donors’ generous support in 2018 and welcomes their continued commitments to addressing the humanitarian needs of vulnerable children in the region.