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Palestine refugees brave the winter with UK aid-funded cash assistance programme

23 December 2014

The UNRWA cash assistance programme gives 460,000 Palestine refugees in Syria the flexibility and dignity to prioritise their own living costs. This will remain the critical area of intervention for the UNRWA humanitarian response in 2015. Cash assistance helps decrease extreme vulnerability and increases the resilience of Palestine refugees facing a fourth winter of armed conflict in Syria.

In 2014, UK aid generously supported UNRWA with £5.9 million ($9.1 million) for cash assistance, which provided support to the most vulnerable groups such as female-headed households, the elderly and the displaced. In December 2014, UK aid announced an additional £2.2 million ($3.6 million) for cash assistance and the provision of winter clothing to 4,000 Palestine refugees living in the besieged area of Yarmouk.

Almost four years of armed conflict has taken its toll on the Palestine refugee population in Syria. All Palestine refugee camps have been affected. Over 50 per cent of registered Palestine refugees - 280,000 people - remain internally displaced. © UNRWA/Taghrid Mohammad.Continuous displacement is unaffordable and depressing. Some families, like those in Qabr Essit camp, are opting to return to their damaged homes to save on rental costs. Families can then prioritize food, water and fuel, vitally important for the onset of winter. Qabr Essit camp, Damascus, December 2014. © UNRWA/Taghrid Mohammed.Food prices have risen steeply over the course of the conflict, with insecurity frequently preventing access to markets. The UNRWA cash assistance programme allows families to purchase fresh food and meet their nutritional needs. Street market in the Alliance Quarter, Damascus, December 2014. © UNRWA/Taghrid Mohammad.With UK aid support, UNRWA provides 96 per cent of Palestine refugees in Syria with vital cash assistance to meet their humanitarian needs. With the onset of winter, cash assistance is vital in helping families procure adequate clothing, bedding and fuel. Alliance Distribution Centre, Damascus, October 2014. © UNRWA/Tagrid Mohammad.A woman buys fresh vegetables in the street market outside the UNRWA Palestine Institute School for Boys and Girls. December 2014. © UNRWA/Taghrid Mohammad.Fresh vegetables supplement the dried goods in UNRWA food parcels. A man holds a box of supplies in Old Damascus, near the UNRWA Alliance Distribution Centre. Each parcel provides 700kcal per person, per day, for one month. December 2014. © UNRWA/Taghrid Mohammad.UNRWA provides food parcels to Palestine refugees throughout Syria, assembled in the UNRWA Logistics Compound in Damascus. Food parcels include staples such as rice, lentils, oil, powdered milk, sugar and canned meat. Damascus, December 2014. © UNRWA/Taghrid Mohammad.Sixteen collective temporary shelters across Damascus and the surrounding areas house 12,868 displaced Palestine refugees. Many are unemployed and wholly reliant on UNRWA for cash, shelter and food. Al-Rameh School, Jaramana Collective Shelter, December 2014. © UNRWA/Taghrid Mohammad.The UNRWA cash assistance programme supplements Nisreen’s food assistance, allowing her to put enough money aside to pay her monthly rent. Damascus, November 2014. © UNRWA/Taghrid Mohammad.Cash assistance allows Palestine refugee families to keep a balanced diet. A grandmother cooks a traditional vegetable dish for her family, bought at the market outside the Jaramana shelter in Damascus. Al-Rameh School, Jaramana collective shelter, November 2014. © UNRWA/Taghrid Mohammad.In December 2014, UK aid announced an additional donation of GBP 2.2 million (US$ 3.6 million) funding for the UNRWA cash assistance programme, and for 4,000 winter clothing kits to be distributed to Palestine refugees living in the besieged area of Yarmouk. © UNRWA/Taghrid Mohammad.Today, this little girl is able to eat one of her two main meals thanks to generous donors such as UK aid. Support from UNRWA donors makes a difference to the thousands of Palestine refugees facing hardship this winter. Al Rameh School, Jaramana collective shelter, November 2014. © Taghrid Mohammad/UNRWA.

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