As of end of June 2019, UNHCR Syria provided community-based protection to 752,051 displaced persons, returnees and host community members, including 146,022 individuals provided with legal assistance, 108,252 children with social and recreational activities in community centres, child-friendly spaces, schools and other outreach activities, 30,476 students with remedial and catch-up classes, and 96,472 individuals taking part in SGBV awareness sessions.
Meanwhile, 825,243 individuals received at least one core-relief item, 77,993 displaced persons, returnees and host community members benefited from UNHCR’s shelter activities, while 219,747 individuals were supported through UNHCR’s community-based health interventions, as well as 2,056 individuals benefited from the UNHCR’s livelihood programme.
UNHCR recorded 41,570 Syrian refugees having spontaneously returned between January and June 2019. An increase in self-organized returns of refugees in 2019 is expected. UNHCR will continue to respond to the needs of the displaced and refugee returnees with the same implemented community-based protection approach assisting internally displaced Syrians.
Update on Achievements
Operational Context
In the ninth year of the crisis, the humanitarian needs in Syria remained staggering in terms of scale, severity and complexity, with protection risks persisting in a number of areas.
According to the Humanitarian Needs Overview (HNO) 2019, a total of 11.7 million people are in need of humanitarian assistance, including 5.9 million people that are internally displaced. Some 5 million people are in acute need due to a convergence of vulnerabilities resulting from displacement, exposure to hostilities and limited access to basic goods and services. There are also 1.1 million people in need in hard-to-reach locations. Major population movements took place in 2018, where 1.6 million people moved across the country.
In 2019, a major emergency situation occurred in North-East Syria leading to internal displacement and loss of lives of particularly children. UNHCR responded to this emergency through an inter-agency effort in providing life-saving assistance through its Non-Food Item (NFI)/Shelter and protection programmes.
Working in partnership
In compliance with UNHCR policy on the selection and retention of partners, and in view of the operation’s expansion, UNHCR undertook a full-fledged Call of Expression of Interest to select for partnership under IDP and returnees’ projects for 2020.
As of end of June, UNHCR has partnership agreements with 25 partners including six international NGOs, 17 national NGOs and two government entities (Ministry of Local Administration and Environment and Ministry of Higher Education). Out of 11 national partners who have submitted the Partnership Project with UNHCR for the clearance of the Ministry of Social Affairs and Labor, nine partners have received the approval so far, while the partnership agreement with one of the local partners in Homs was not approved. Moreover, UNHCR decided not to extend the partnership agreement with one of the international NGOs beyond June 2019.
