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UNRWA delivers food assistance to 22,000 Palestine refugees south-east of Aleppo

17 February 2015

Aleppo

Like the majority of the 480,000 Palestine refugees remaining in Syria, the 22,000 in Neirab camp, 13km south-east of Aleppo, have suffered from the long-standing conflict. Access to Neirab camp was cut off for months at a time during 2013, leaving residents struggling to survive and exposed to intense hardship and deprivation. Today, as the conflict continues to rage in the Aleppo governorate, livelihood opportunities have disappeared, leaving Palestine refugees dependent on UNRWA humanitarian aid to meet their minimum daily needs.

The Emergency Response Fund (ERF) administered by UN Office for Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) has provided US$ 2.25 million to UNRWA in 2015 to purchase and distribute critical food and household items in Hama, Homs, Latakia, Dera’a and Aleppo, in Syria. Palestine refugees in Neirab camp were among the recipients.

With the conflict approaching the fifth year, the distribution of food and household items, such as those purchased with ERF funding, are becoming ever more crucial to supporting the resilience of Palestine refugees in Syria. 

Food distribution funded by ERF supports some of the most vulnerable Palestine refugees across Syria. Sustained humanitarian assistance provides an essential lifeline to families who have no other form of support. February 2015. © 2015 UNRWA Photo by Ahmed Abu ZeidNeirab camp is located 13km south-east of Aleppo. The camp has sustained damage during the four-year conflict in Syria. December 2014. © 2014 UNRWA PhotoAccess to Neirab has been frequently cut by armed conflict in the surrounding area, impacting on the ability of UNRWA to distribute critically-needed food and household assistance. A worker stacks boxes in the UNRWA distribution centre in Neirab. February 2015. © 2015 UNRWA Photo by Ahmad Abu ZeidFood prices in Syria have jumped by 275 per cent since the start of the conflict. As a result, many Palestine refugees are now dependent on UNRWA in-kind food assistance to feed their families. © 2015 UNRWA Photo by Ahmad Abu Zeid.Caption: A typical UNRWA family food parcel provides 700kcal per person per day, for a month, and contains staples such as lentils, rice, cooking oil and halawa. When combined with cash assistance, it ensures that recipients can meet their minimum daily nutritional needs. © 2015 UNRWA PhotoYouth unemployment across Syria reached 82 per cent in 2014, and is estimated to be higher amongst Palestine refugees. The UNRWA emergency relief programme, financed by donors such as the ERF, provides some rare stability for refugees who have no other reliable source of income. February 2015. © 2015 UNRWA Photo by Ahmad Abu ZeidAli Joma Al-Khatib, aged 67, uses his food parcel to help support his wife and nine sons. The family is struggling financially; Ali’s wife is suffering from heart disease and his eldest son was displaced from his home in rural Aleppo. Ali currently has no other income to cover the family’s daily living costs. February 2015. © 2015 UNRWA Photo by Ahmad Abu Zeid

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