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Alleviating the suffering of displaced civilians from Yarmouk

19 May 2015

Humanitarian assistance has made a meaningful and significant difference in the lives of the displaced men, women and children from Yarmouk who are dealing daily with the trauma and hardship of life during conflict. UNRWA continues to provide food, potable water, medical and dental services, household items and nutritional supplements to Palestine refugee and Syrian civilians from Yarmouk who have fled to the neighboring areas of Yalda, Beit Saham and Babila. In April, UNRWA has delivered 5,008 food parcels, 13,200 bundles of bread and 50,000 litres of potable water, and treated a total of 2345 patients at the UNRWA temporary health point.

UNRWA’s priority remains the delivery of humanitarian aid and critical medical support to civilians within Yarmouk itself, whose vulnerability remains of the highest severity. The Agency is deeply concerned that without access to Yarmouk, the most basic humanitarian needs of up to 18,000 Palestinian and Syrian civilians, including 3,500 children, continue to be left unmet.

Food assistance is a critical component of the emergency response. On 9 May, UNRWA provided enough fresh and dry food to a central community kitchen in Yalda to feed 600 individuals for one week ©UNRWA 9 May 2015. UNRWA has supplied equipment that will be used to establish a high-capacity collective shelter kitchen in Yalda and strengthen an existing kitchen in Babila. Civilians queue for a hot meal in Yalda. ©UNRWA 9 May 2015. UNRWA continues to provide critically required health services. On 9 May 2015, the mobile health point in Yalda treated 465 patients over the course of the day. Five out of 97 children under five years old were found to be moderately malnourished. ©UNRWA 9 May 2015. With generous support from the World Food Programme (WFP), UNRWA has been able to distribute Plumpy Doz nutritional supplements to displaced families with children under five years old. ©UNRWA 9 May 2015. On 9 May, UNRWA vaccinated 14 children displaced from Yarmouk against tetanus, hepatitis, tuberculosis and diptheria. ©UNRWA 9 May 2015.This patient lost three toes while unable to access medication to treat his diabetes in Yarmouk. In April, 26 percent of displaced civilians treated by UNRWA were suffering from non-communicable diseases including hypertension and diabetes. ©UNRWA 9 May 2015.On 9 May, the UNRWA mobile health point included a dental unit. The UNRWA dentist treated 57 patients, including surgical procedures and extraction. ©UNRWA 9 May 2015. Dispensary services are a key part of UNRWA’s medical response. Civilians displaced from Yarmouk have not had reliable access to medication for over two years. ©UNRWA 9 May 2015.UNRWA’s priority remains the delivery of humanitarian aid to civilians within Yarmouk itself. The Agency reiterates its demand for respect and compliance with obligations to protect civilians and to establish secure conditions under which the Agency can deliver life-saving humanitarian assistance. ©UNRWA 9 May 2015.

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