Syria Crisis

Parenthood In War: One Father’s Ongoing Struggle to Support his Family
Ismaeel Abbas, a 61-year-old Palestine refugee from rural Damascus, never imagined his senior years would be filled with hardship.
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UNRWA Launches 2020 Budget Appeal for US$ 1.4 Billion
The Acting Commissioner-General of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), Christian Saunders, today called for a minimum of US$ 1.4 billion to fund the Agency’s essential services and assistance, including life-saving humanitarian aid and priority projects, for 5.6 million registered Palestine refugees across the Middle East for the year 2020.
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Meeting the Human Development and Humanitarian Needs of Palestine Refugees
In December 2019, the United Nations General Assembly voted overwhelmingly in support of the extension of the UNRWA mandate until 2023. As long as Palestine refugees remain refugees, UNRWA is the organization that they turn to for education, health care, housing, social services, financial...
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Through rubble and debris to a better future
Seventh-graders Sondous and Zahra’a from Yarmouk walk past the debris of war to reach their school in nearby Yalda: devastated buildings, black and grey, with rooftops that are bent over, kissing the ground. The two girls are among thousands of Palestine refugee children in Syria who bear the scars of the Syrian war.
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Austria Contributes EUR 2 Million to Support UNRWA Syria Regional Crisis Emergency Appeal 2019
The Government of Austria yesterday signed an agreement amounting to EUR 2 million with the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) in support of the Agency’s 2019 Syria Regional Crisis Emergency Appeal.
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Acting UNRWA Commissioner-General makes official visit to Syria
Acting Commissioner-General of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), Christian Saunders, visited Syria between 3 and 6 December
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syria regional crisis response progress report
This mid-year progress report covers the period 1 January through 30 June 2019 and is intended to provide an update on results achieved under the full range of indicators included in the 2019 Emergency Appeal (EA) for the Syria regional crisis.

During the first six months of 2019, UNRWA...
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Palestine refugees from Syria have been severely affected by the ongoing armed conflict. Of the total 438,000 Palestine refugees from Syria, the vast majority require assistance. Click here to read more.

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Facts and Figures

CASH ASSISTANCE

Cash assistance is a dignified, cost-effective and flexible tool to address the most immediate and urgent needs of vulnerable refugees in crisis. By allowing conflict-affected civilians to independently determine and meet their respective essential priorities, short-term cash assistance boosts individual coping strategies and enables refugees to allocate scarce financial resources to their own household priorities.

In 2018, cash assistance remains the priority intervention in Syria, Lebanon and Jordan. The purpose of the regular cash assistance component is to cover basic needs such as food, non-food items (NFI) and shelter.

In Syria, UNRWA is running one of the largest cash assistance programmes anywhere in the world, helping Palestine refugees to meet part of their humanitarian needs with the dignity of choice. In 2018, UNRWA plans to distribute cash grants to 418,000 refugees. Through its partners, comprising a network of banks and private companies present in all regions of Syria, UNRWA provides cash assistance in a flexible and timely manner with minimal financial risk.

In Lebanon, 95 per cent of PRS are food insecure and greatly rely on UNRWA support to cover their basic needs. In 2018, 34,000 Palestine refugees from Syria (PRS) will receive a monthly multipurpose cash grant.

In Jordan, cash will be distributed in 2018 to 17,100 vulnerable and extremely vulnerable PRS. The purpose of the regular cash assistance component is to cover basic needs such as food, NFIs and shelter.

Click here to learn more about refugee camps prior to the start of the conflict in Syria.

Gap 100.00

Coverage 0.00

Funding Requirements

The Agency has reduced its appeal from US$ 277 million in 2019 to US$ 212 million in 2020 to preserve life-saving humanitarian assistance to Palestine refugees affected by the Syria regional crisis. Although the needs for Palestine refugees remain the same, with over per cent living below the poverty line, this reduction is based on projected funding trends and reflects the unprecedented funding crisis faced by UNRWA in 2019. In Syria, UNRWA continues to provide cash assistance to about 418,000 Palestine refugees to support them in meeting their basic needs. UNRWA is also the main provider of basic health care for more than 438,000 Palestine refugees estimated to remain inside Syria, as well as providing education to more than 51,000 students. In nine official camps, the Agency ensures access to basic services, including water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH).

Total Appeal$212,846,000

Received to Date$0

Gap$212,846,000

Gap100.00%

Coverage0.00%

The Syria Crisis

Into the eighth year of conflict, conditions in Syria remain volatile and marked by continuing and intense armed violence and limited humanitarian access. Amid this unconscionable bloodshed and destruction, Palestine refugees remain particularly vulnerable and have been disproportionately affected by the conflict, due to their proximity to conflict areas inside Syria, high rates of poverty, and the tenuous legal status of those forced to flee to Lebanon and Jordan. The timeline below tells their story.

WITH THANKS YOU TO OUR DONORS

Our ability to respond depends on the generosity of donors and the guarantee of safe and consistent access to those in need, in accordance with international law. We urge donors to maintain and increase their support in 2018 to mitigate the humanitarian impacts of the crisis in Syria, enhance the protection of civilians and prevent further suffering. We call on all parties to the Syria conflict to urgently pursue a negotiated solution and put an end to the violence, destruction, and violation of rights, dignity and humanity.