WFP SYRIA Monthly Operational Update

WFP SYRIA Monthly Operational Update WFP/ SARC Idleb-Media Team HIGHLIGHTS SEPTEMBER IN FIGURES * WFP September cycle food distributions assisted approximately 2.5 million people across Syria, or 83 percent of the target 3 million beneficiaries. * WFP reached Al-Hassakeh by road for the first time in four months on 23 September. Over 2,700 family food rations were dispatched to assist approximately 13,800 people. Successful negotiations between SARC, local partners and community leaders along transport routes allowed the safe passage of WFP food into the governorate. * A blanket supplementary feeding programme, previously assisting children in collective shelters only, was expanded to reach vulnerable children residing in host communities. In cooperation with one NGO partner, WFP provided a monthly Plumpy Doz ration to almost 3,000 children aged 6-59 months in Tartous. Further expansion is underway to reach an additional 6,500 children in Homs and Hama. Beneficiaries Assisted: 2,492,545 Family Food Rations Distributed: 498,509 Wheat Flour Distributed: 5,364 metric tons Number of Distribution Points Monitored: 30 * An inter-agency mission to Dar a on 3 September monitored WFP food distributions for the first time in eight months and conducted an initial assessment of the humanitarian situation in the governorate. 1

WFP OPERATIONS EMOP 200339 EMERGENCY OPERATION (EMOP) 200339 has been providing food assistance to vulnerable conflict-affected populations in Syria since October 2011. Initially aiming to reach 50,000 beneficiaries, the response rapidly scaled up to target 3 million from July 2013; a further scale-up to 4 million beneficiaries from October is underway. Life-saving general food distributions provide a nutritious monthly family food basket consisting of a planned 15kg rice, 2.5kg bulgur wheat, 2.5kg pasta, 5kg dry pulses, 4.8kg canned pulses, 4.5kg fortified vegetable oil, 5kg sugar and 0.5kg iodised salt. Approximately 70 percent of beneficiary households are also targeted to receive a 25kg fortified wheat flour ration in areas where the effects of the conflict have compromised availability and reduced milling and bakery capacities. The family food ration has been scaled to meet the needs of a five-member household, and satisfies up to 80 percent of minimum daily caloric requirements. In the event of inadequate resourcing or disruptions to the supply-chain, WFP is forced to reduce the quantities of some commodities. Distributions are conducted on a monthly basis in order to balance meeting the immediate food needs of beneficiaries with the logistical challenges associated with such wide-scale activity across insecure areas. Each monthly cycle is typically completed over the course of 45 days. Beneficiaries receive their rations directly from distribution points established in IDP collective shelters or at locations situated in close proximity to where conflict-affected groups are residing. Distributions seek to prioritise those typically most vulnerable to the effects of conflict and displacement, including women, unaccompanied children, the non-able bodied and the elderly. Ready-to-eat rations (consisting of a range of immediately consumable items such as beans, canned meat and cheese) are also distributed to newly displaced families with limited access to food or cooking facilities, during the initial days of their displacement. A blanket supplementary feeding programme, targeting a total of 300,000 children in 2013, was launched in partnership with the Ministry of Health and UNICEF in March 2013. Aiming to prevent acute malnutrition among children aged 6-59 months, blanket distributions of Plumpy Doz provide a daily ration of 46g of the specialized product to IDP children residing in collective shelters. Here, UNICEF also conducts nutritional screening and treats cases of moderate and severe acute malnutrition. As needs are known to be far greater and to exist beyond the collective shelter context, WFP has now expanded coverage into host communities, distributing the supplementary product alongside the regular provision of monthly WFP family food rations in cooperation with NGO partners. A daily ration of 20g of a second product, Nutributter, is also provided to children aged 6-24 months in the northeast of the country in order to address micronutrient deficiencies. SO 200477 SPECIAL OPERATION 200477 was launched in July 2012 to strengthen logistics and telecommunications support to EMOP 200339, and to provide similar services to the entire humanitarian community operating within Syria. The operation additionally aims to improve inter-agency logistics coordination and information management. Security Rising insecurity and increasing tensions characterized the second half of August and the month of September, escalating in the aftermath of a chemical weapons attack on 21 August in eastern Ghouta in Rural Damascus. An intensification of bombardments and air strikes around Damascus were registered during the first and last weeks of September. Throughout this period, WFP took measures to reduce its footprint in the capital in preparation for any further deterioration of the security environment. Since 26 August, only essential staff have been reporting to duty at the office in Damascus. Additionally, WFP s international staff presence was limited to eight throughout the month of September, with the remaining temporarily relocated to offices in Beirut and Amman. WFP/ Hiba Hanano 2

SITUATIONAL ANALYSIS Evolving needs Population displacements The sudden displacement of populations fleeing insecurity and active fighting is increasingly widespread. According to preliminary estimates presented by OCHA in September, the total number of internally displaced people across the country increased to 6.5 million, from the 4.25 million estimated in July. Many families have faced multiple displacements and with each uprooting belongings and savings are lost and long term survival capacities eroded, increasing their reliance on humanitarian assistance. During the course of September, major population displacements were reported in the governorates of Homs, Hama, Al-Hassakeh and Idleb. At least 81,000 people were newly displaced considering these three events only. WFP provided immediate assistance to approximately 47,500 of these, by re-prioritizing 9,500 monthly family food rations to these areas. Receiving Governorate New IDPs Origin of IDPs WFP response/ targeted beneficiaries Description of events HOMS 13,350 people 65 km northeast of Homs 10,000 people (2,000 family food rations) Attack on a village forced the displacement of families to Mukharram. A WFP mission delivered assistance to these families on 10 September. HAMA 43,000 people Idleb, Aleppo, rural Hama 25,000 people (5,000 family food rations) Dramatic rise of IDPs from 90,000 to 133,000 reported by a UN inter-agency mission to Hama city on 23 and 24 September. Hama is surrounded by governorates under intense fighting and is subject to clashes in its northeastern territories. A WFP mission provided food assistance to these families on 25 September. IDLEB 25,000 people Total Newly displaced: 81,350 Rural Idleb 12,500 people (2,500, family food rations) Clashes in Ariha city forced displacement to Idleb city. An inter-agency mission conducted on 18 and 22 September provided assistance to these families. Market Monitoring Disruption of markets is reducing the availability of food in some areas and, alongside general weakening of the Syrian economy, is increasing inflation and reducing employment opportunities. As a result, many families are increasingly unable to access sufficient food. During the July September quarter, prices of food commodities (particularly vegetables and dairy) increased. Compared to September 2012 levels, the price of dairy was found to be five times higher. WFP programme monitoring found that these increases are forcing reductions in household dietary diversity, with the most vulnerable now consuming almost exclusively carbohydrates. Rising inflation and the depreciation of the Syrian pound is also eroding families purchasing power. During the last two weeks of September, the Syrian pound suffered a depreciation of 24 percent (WFP market price analysis). Moreover, reduced economic activity due to rising insecurity is causing losses in employment opportunities and income sources for most households. According to estimates from the Syrian Center for Policy Research, poverty levels have almost doubled since 2010, with more than half of the population, or 12.6 million people, now living in poverty. Of these 4.4 million are categorized as extremely poor. 3

OPERATIONS General Food Distributions During the September cycle, WFP dispatched a total of 543,461 family food rations to 13 governorates across the country, sufficient to assist more than 2.7 million people or 91 percent of the plan. These figures are second only to those achieved in July, when WFP dispatched sufficient food for 2.9 million people, or 96 percent of the monthly plan. In addition, 7,107 mt of wheat flour for 1.4 million people was dispatched in September, fulfilling 63 percent of the plan. Changing access conditions continue to affect the allocation of food dispatches across the country. In September, insecurity along transport routes prevented planned food dispatches to a targeted 500,000 beneficiaries in Aleppo. In Homs, food rations to a targeted 22,500 people could not reach Sukneh and Palmyra due to escalating conflict. Additionally, security incidents along the routes involved two WFP convoys transporting food rations and wheat flour, though minimal losses were reported. Insecurity and other access restrictions continue to require changes to original plans. In September, WFP re-allocated food assistance that could not reach intended destinations to areas where the planned levels of assistance were not enough to cover all needs. This was the case in Homs where, despite the lack of dispatches to Palmyra and Sukneh, actual distributions for September cycle exceeded planned figures. Governorate Homs Hama Idleb Aleppo Al-Raqqa Al-Hassakeh Deir Ezzor Tartous Latiakia Qunaitra Sweida Dar a Damascus September cycle distributions concluded on Rural 22 October, with more than 498,500 family Damascus food rations provided to almost 2.5 million beneficiaries. Some 1.1 million of these also Total received a monthly ration of fortified wheat flour, with a total 5,634 mt distributed during the cycle. Beneficiaries Original Plan Actual Percentage 411,975 490,235 119% 213,795 254,360 119% 178,940 174,500 98% 554,785 0 0 194,375 270,300 139% 149,670 0 0 164,095 219,345 134% 127,000 127,000 100% 78,285 78,285 100% 40,895 64,395 157% 26,145 26,000 99% 131,985 135,000 102% 258,580 270,000 104% 469,475 383,125 82% 3,000,000 2,492,545 83% Cooperating partners conducted distributions in 214 main final distribution points (FDP) across the country. Owing to volatile security conditions on the ground, the FDPs number and location vary from month to month, as partners may no longer be able to perform distributions in previously accessible locations, or beneficiaries may be unable to reach planned distribution sites. WFP/Fatima Mohammad For similar reasons, distributions for the September cycle were lower than the plan. In Al-Hassakeh, disrupted access over the past four months resulted in no food being distributed during this cycle, despite a first cargo of 2,750 food parcels being dispatched on 23 September. Aleppo received no food dispatches and distributions could not take place. Additionally, 39 locations in Rural Damascus remained inaccessible as a result of widespread insecurity and active fighting; humanitarian assistance has not reached some of these for a year or more. 4

The late arrival of some commodity purchases forced WFP to reduce rations of rice, lentils and bulgur wheat during the September cycle. This reduced the caloric value of the food basket to 1,606 Kcal per person per day, from a planned 1,689 Kcal. In order to minimize similar cuts in subsequent months, WFP initiated the urgent local procurement of pulses during September. Blanket Supplementary Feeding Programme Previously implemented only in IDP collective shelters, where the partner Ministry of Health has been challenged by haphazard access and limited capacities to distribute at the planned scale, WFP expanded its blanket September 2013: Actual Family Food Ration Distributed Commodity Kg/Family Rice 13 Bulgur wheat 1.5 Pasta Dried Pulse Canned Pulse Vegetable Oil Sugar Wheat flour Salt Canned Tuna 2.5 4 4.8 4.5 5 supplementary feeding 0.5 programme in September. A one-month Plumpy Doz ration was distributed by one NGO cooperating partner to 2,888 children aged 6-59 months residing in host communities in Tartous. Here, the partner took mid-upper arm circumference (MUAC) measurements of a total 2,904 children, of which the balance 18 demonstrated symptoms of moderate acute malnutrition and were referred to the nearest treatment centre. This was the beginning of a first-phase expansion of the programme to also include host communities in Homs and Hama, where an additional 6,500 children will be targeted for preventive nutrition support. Across the country, WFP plans to assist up to 300,000 children in 2013. 25 0 Monitoring WFP/Fatima Mohammad In the northeast of the country, insecurity limited access by Ministry of Health officials to target locations in Al-Raqqa, Deir Ezzor and Al-Hassakeh, precluding planned distributions of Nutributter to children aged 6-24 months here during the September cycle. As such, distributions only took place in Aleppo, where 20,580 children of a planned 30,000 were reached. WFP conducted monitoring visits to 30 FDPs in 8 governorates, or 14 percent of the total main 214 FDPs at which distributions took place during the September cycle. During these visits, a total of 169 families were interviewed. Seven locations were monitored for the first time: three FDPs in Hama city, one in Ghouta and one in Maskaneh in Homs governorate, one in Qadmous in Tartous governorate and one in Maaraba in Rural Damascus. Total monitoring visits by governorate Tartous 17% Al-Hassakeh 7% Dar a 3% Damascus 13% Monitoring coverage improved following the return of WFP staff to Homs city on 15 September, after being temporarily relocated to Tartous due to rising insecurity in June. Nevertheless, a number of challenges narrowed the scope of monitoring activities across the country: Hama 10% Lattakia 3% Rural Damascus 13% * Access restrictions prevented monitoring activities in Al-Raqqa, Deir Ezzor, Quneitra and Idleb. In Aleppo monitoring activities have been restricted since December when, owing to rising insecurity the WFP office was shut down. Additionally, no distributions took place during the September cycle. Furthermore, recurrent clashes in the north of Al-Hassakeh governorate limited monitoring activities to Qamishly and Al-Hassakeh city only, while movement within Rural Damascus was challenged by ongoing military operations. Homs 34% 5

Monitoring Observations No splitting of rations between families was reported at any visited locations; this trend was previously observed in some areas where needs exceeded food allocations. Furthermore, up to 54 percent of interviewed September cycle beneficiaries had also received a ration the previous month (only 25 percent reported that they were receiving a ration only every two months or more). Some beneficiaries reported that the size of the ration provided was insufficient to cover the needs of their family. Some 3 percent of all those interviewed admitted selling part of their ration, of which 79 percent claimed that this was done in order to purchase other food needs. Cooking rations remained problematic for 45 percent of interviewed beneficiaries, primarily owing to a lack of fuel. The use of negative coping strategies was widely reported. During the 7 days preceding the interview, 57 percent of beneficiaries reported borrowing food, while 70 percent were forced to reduce the number of meals they consumed per day. Up to 27 percent of respondents claimed that they could no longer use savings to cover immediate needs, as these had been exhausted. Cutting on essential non-food expenses (including education and health) in order to cover food needs was reported by 68 percent. * These results concerned a limited number of families in select locations. They are not representative of the situation at country level. An interagency mission to Dar a on 3 September monitored WFP food distributions for the first time in eight months and conducted an initial assessment of the humanitarian situation in the governorate. Discussions with partners and local community leaders revealed that: * A total of 358,850 IDPs have been registered by SARC, of which 21,810 are being hosted in 147 collective shelters. Approximately 100,000 people were allegedly displaced by the fighting that took place in Nawa and Jasmin in August to locations such as Sheikh Meshikn, Da el, Tassil, As Shajara, Lahit, and Abtaa. In many cases, families were reportedly subject to multiple displacements. * A significant reduction in economic activity owing to ongoing fighting resulted in the closure of many businesses and small commercial activities. Agricultural output was also severely affected and wheat production was estimated to have decreased to one third of the level recorded two years ago. * Widespread insecurity in many areas delayed WFP food distributions as partners were unable to access these locations. As a result, most households received food once every three months. WFP/Fatima Mohammad 6

SPECIAL FEATURE Zooming in on the IDPs in Al-Hassakeh Al-Hassakeh received little or no food assistance over the past four months as a result of growing insecurity and restrictions along transport routes. WFP dispatched food rations for the first time by road on 23 September. Post-distribution monitoring conducted in September provided insight into the situation in the governorate, and showed some of the vulnerabilities affecting IDP households and negative coping strategies they are forced to rely on in order to survive. The Numbers In September, SARC reports estimated a total of 95,000 IDPs in Al-Hassakeh governorate of which: * 29,000 were from the neighboring governorates of Deir-Ezzor, Aleppo, Al-Raqqa and Homs; * 33,000 were internal to Al-Hassakeh fleeing sectarian fighting particularly in the north and in rural Qamishly; 30% 35% 35% IDP origins in Al-Hassakeh ID Ps external to the governorate Internal IDPs economic migrants * 33,000 were economic migrants that had left Al-Hassakeh in previous years and now returned owing to increasing insecurity in those areas. Locations hosting IDP families in Al-Hassakeh The majority of IDPs were residing in the main cities of Qamishly and Al-Hassakeh, which together host 75 percent of the IDP population. Most IDP families had lost their jobs, had no fixed source of income and were only occasionally employed in casual labour for 200 SYP a day. 11% 26% 8% 6% 49% Al-Hassakeh City Shaddadi, Ariesha, Margada, Fadghami Ras El-Ain, Tal tarner, Derbasieh Malkieh, Yarobia, Rmilan, Mabada Qamishly, Amouda, Qahtanieh Exhausting Capacities In order to cut down on living expenses, most families rented unfurnished apartments in the immediate outskirts of big cities where costs were lower. In most cases, several families shared the same apartment (each family may have up to seven members living in one room) and lived in overcrowded conditions. A number of cases were reported of families living in animal stables. Hygiene services in both apartments and collective shelters were below standard, increasing the risk of infectious diseases among IDPs. Additionally families were increasingly relying on the cheapest and lowest quality foods, often cutting out meat, fruits and vegetables from their diets. Negative coping strategies observed: * Early marriage of daughters * Consumption of cheaper and lower quality foods * Begging * Selling of assets if still available 7

Logistics and Food Supplies WFP/Hiba Hanano WFP contracted three additional transport companies on 16 September, bringing the total to four. This will increase the delivery capacity of WFP s emergency response, in preparation for a further scale-up to reach 4 million people from October 2013. During September, WFP continued to import food into Syria through the principal supply corridors of Beirut and Tartous, while increasing the use of Lattakia port. WFP retains the capability to rapidly adjust its use of available corridors (including a fourth through Jordan) in response to changes in the operating environment. In September, three warehouses in Lattakia, Safita (30 km from Tartous) and Damascus allowed for a total storage capacity of 85,000m² in support of the emergency response. Five packaging facilities, three in Damascus, one in Lattakia and one in Tartous, are able to package up to 10,000 family food rations per day. Upon arrival in the country, food commodities are immediately packaged prior to dispatch. This avoids the food basket being put together on-site under difficult security circumstances, mitigates the risk of beneficiaries not receiving the required food items as a result of incorrect packaging, and limits the risk of losses. PARTNERSHIPS & COORDINATION Cooperating Partnerships The Syrian Arab Red Crescent (SARC) remains WFP s main cooperating partner, handling and distributing 60 percent of WFP food. In September, one international NGO was contracted by WFP to facilitate food distributions in Hama, bringing the total number of cooperating partners to 24, including SARC and 22 local NGOs and charities. 8

Inter-Agency Coordination and Support The development of the 2014 Syrian Humanitarian Assistance Response Plan (SHARP) started in September. The inter-agency plan is expected to be launched in December. Preliminary OCHA estimates, presented at a SHARP workshop on 22 September in Damascus, suggested that a total of 9.3 million people are in need of humanitarian assistance, compared to the 6.8 million identified in July. WFP and FAO, co-leading the Food and Agriculture Sector, secured approval from the High Relief Committee to conduct a Joint Rapid Food and Agriculture Assessment. Results from the exercise are expected in November and will inform the sector s response strategy for 2014. In September, WFP participated in inter-agency convoys to Dar a, Al-Raqqa and Idleb, transporting a total of 6,500 family food rations, 2.6 mt of high energy biscuits and 214 mt of wheat flour to an estimated 32,500 people in these locations. Inter-agency convoys are increasingly used by humanitarian actors in Syria to deliver relief assistance to populations under siege who may not be regularly accessed by routine operations. Between January and September 2013, approximately 31 inter-agency convoys were undertaken to hotspot locations. Hama 3% Homs 39% Inter-agency missions in 2013 Idleb 13% Deir Ezzor 3% Aleppo 19% Al-Hassakeh 10% Dar a 6% Al-Raqqa 7% INTERAGENCY CONVOYS Date of Convoy Governorate WFP Food Assistance Dispatched Beneficiaries Targeted with WFP assistance Other Participating Agencies 3 September Dar a 1,000 Family food rations 5,000 IOM,UNICEF, WHO 18-22 September Idleb 2,500 family food rations, 2.6 mt of high energy biscuits, 63 mt of wheat flour 12,500 IOM, UNFPA, UNICEF 24 September Al-Raqqa 3,000 family food rations, 150 mt of wheat flour 15,000 UNFPA, UNICEF, WHO Logistics Cluster The Logistics Cluster, led by WFP, is responsible for ensuring coordination, information management and necessary logistics support to the humanitarian community operating within Syria. A number of logistics services were made available in September to support the overall humanitarian response in Syria, including providing free-to-user storage and transport, and supporting inter-agency convoys to sieged locations (including all three that took place during September). Over 19,000 m³ of humanitarian supplies were transported and 24,000 m³ stored in Logistics Cluster warehouses between January and September 2013. Items transported include WASH, health, agriculture, education, nutrition, food and shelter, on behalf of ACF, DRC, FAO, IOM, IMC, Mercy Corps, Premiere Urgence, Secours Islamique France, UNDP, UNFPA, UNHCR, UNICEF, UNRWA and WHO. 9

During September, the Cluster continued to augment its common storage capacity in Safita. Currently amounting to 1,520 m², the expansion aims to offer up to 2,720 m² for the storage of inter-agency humanitarian supplies by October. The Logistics Cluster is also increasing storage capacity for WFP supplies: in September, 20 mobile storage units, with a capacity of 6,320 m², were available; an additional 22 are being installed and will bring the total storage capacity for WFP supplies to 13,360 m². Strategically located at a short distance from Central and Northern Syria, the facility will increasingly be used as an important staging point for future transport and dispatch of humanitarian cargo to these areas. WFP/Hussam Al Saleh 10