WFP s Response Inside Syria and in Neighbouring Countries: Jordan, Lebanon, Turkey, Iraq and Egypt Reporting Period: 3 May 17 May 2013 Syria On 4 May, heavy fighting in Banias and surrounding villages on Syria s Mediterranean coast led thousands of families to flee to Tartous city. Within 24 hours of these events, WFP mobilized ready-to-eat rations from its Damascus warehouse to Tartous city for distribution to the effected families. Thus far, WFP has reached approximately 10,000 people mainly women and children with ready-to-eat rations and high energy biscuits. Through its cooperating partner, the Syrian Arab Red Crescent (SARC), WFP food has been distributed in gathering points and shelters in communities such as Zamrin, Breej and Mrah, near Tartous city. Ready-to-eat rations included, among other commodities, fava beans, chickpea paste (humus), canned meat, canned vegetables, olive oil, cheese and juice. Following this emergency ration, families will be given WFP s regular food basket which includes rice, bulgur, sugar, pasta, vegetable oil and lentils. This assistance provides much needed stability in the face of a terrible tragedy. (WFP/Syria) WFP is targeting 2.5 million Syrians monthly with general food distribution (GFD), through the dispatch of family food rations to cooperating partners for their distribution. During May, WFP plans to dispatch food for 1.5 million beneficiaries through SARC, while a million is to be covered by local NGO/ charity partners. WFP is continuing to work during its May cycle with the same 19 local charities, as during the April cycle. WFP has begun dispatches of Nutributter to the governorates of Deir Ezzor and Al-Hasakeh, in northeastern Syria. The intervention seeks to prevent possible gaps in micronutrients amongst children between the ages of 6-23 months residing in host community. Dispatches of Plumpy Doz were dispatched to the governorate of Hama, northern Syria, during the past week and Quneitra, in southwestern Syria. To date WFP has dispatched 67 percent of its planned supplementary food programme. Monitoring During the reporting period, WFP was able to conduct several monitoring visits to villages in Homs governorate. On 7 May, WFP field monitors visited the village of Krad Dasnieh, 25 km west of Homs City as part of a three-truck inter-agency convoy loaded with food rations for 5,000 people and NFIs. All items were dispatched to the local SARC branch, covering the villages of Krad Dasnieh, Kafer Nan and Tasneen. WFP had last dispatched to this area three months ago with enough food rations for 3,750 individuals. However, it is clear that humanitarian needs far outweigh the current response as the total population of the area now surpasses 25,000 people, due to the large influx of Internal Displaced People (IDPs).
Two further missions were held on 8 and 12 May, coinciding with two cross-line convoys supported by the Logistics Cluster. Both visits were to the Al-Houle area, 28 km west of Homs city where WFP monitored three villages: Borj Ka ae, Kafer Laha and Tellef. In Borj Ka ae, locals noted that they were only able to meet their food needs by consuming food reserved from last year. However, since this reserve of food finished months earlier, locals have been forced to sell valuable assets, including land, for food commodities. The 500 WFP family rations distributed to the village during this monitoring visit were each divided in two by SARC in order to reach as many families as possible. In Tellef, where many of the 1,500 IDPs are living in four schools with very poor hygiene conditions, people are in great need of food and basic humanitarian assistance. Local residents have also been severely affected by the ongoing crisis as most have lost livestock and are unable to plant their land due to fears of violence. In Kafer Laha, where people are in great need of wheat flour, baby milk and food, a black market (WFP/Syria) for bread and fuel has emerged, forcing many of the 31,000 people in the village, including 4,000 IDPs, to pay high prices for such basic commodities. Overall, WFP field monitors noted the critical need for food, especially wheat flour, in all of the areas visited. According to the communities interviewed, the area has not received wheat flour for over a year due to ongoing fighting. Security In Damascus, bomb blasts (as IEDs, mortars or artillery) and small arms fire continue to be heard from different parts of the capital. The further intensification of violence throughout the country is impeding access to many pockets in need of humanitarian assistance. Access to the governorates of Aleppo, Idleb, Dar a, Deir-ez-Zorr, Hama, Homs, Quneitra, Al-Raqqa and Hassakeh continues to be particularly challenging. Thus far during the May cycle (which commenced on 5 May), WFP has been unable to dispatch food for distribution to partners in Al-Raqqa and Sweida. On-going clashes on the main route between Tartous and Damascus, further south, could significantly disrupt the movement of WFP cargo from Tartous Port to WFP s warehouse in the capital city. More than 60 percent of all food stored in this warehouse enough for one million people arrives from Tartous Port through the Damascus-Homs highway, which is witnessing heavy fighting. Food is then dispatched from the Damascus warehouse to affected families in Quneitera, Dar a, As-Sweida, Rural Damascus, Deir-ez-Zor, Al-Hassakeh and Ar-Raqqa governorates. WFP s network throughout the country ensures smooth delivery of food assistance. WFP packaging activities are located in two hubs: Damascus and Safita. Whilst key storage is provided through a network of eight warehousing facilities throughout the country: Safita (Tartous), Qamishli, Aleppo, Lattakia and four warehouses in Damascus. In addition WFP has four Sub Offices in Tartous, Qamishli, Homs and Aleppo (the last of these has been temporarily closed and staff evacuated to Tartous where they continue to work remotely) where WFP staff continue to follow the food security situation. WFP s Response inside Syria and 2
Jordan The number of Syrian people seeking refuge in Jordan continues to increase daily. Syrian refugees now make up some 10 percent of the population and are expected Syrians in Jordan to increase to 20-25 percent by the end of the year. WFP is providing food assistance through voucher and food distributions and currently plans to reach over 190,000 Syrian refugees with food vouchers and over 120,000 people with dry rations for the May cycle. WFP, through its cooperating partners, is continually expanding shop capacity to keep up with the daily influx of Syrian refugees into Jordanian communities. In areas with large refugee caseloads such as Irbid, Mafraq and Amman, Syrian refugees are given the freedom to select their preferred partner shops, thus providing a competitive atmosphere to keep prices low and a wide variety of commodities in stock. WFP constantly monitors the shops in all governorates to ensure fair prices and to deter monopolistic tendencies. School feeding in Al Za atri camp is ongoing, currently reaching around 4,000 students on a daily basis. In addition, over 18,000 welcome meals have been distributed to new arrivals during the reporting period. UNHCR Registered: 389,392 Awaiting Registration: 85,013 Total: 474,405 (WFP/Dina El-Kassaby) The UNHCR High Commissioner recently noted that Al Za atri camp is now the second largest refugee camp in the world after Dadaab in Kenya. The security situation in the camp continues to be volatile with multiple demonstrations during the reporting period and tensions continue to rise between Jordanians and Syrians both within Za atri camp and outside in Jordanian communities. Lebanon WFP operations in Wadi Khalid were resumed in the wake of threats to WFP staff, which have continued. The situation is being closely monitored and WFP is prepared to suspend voucher distributions again, if needed. Border tensions remain a security concern where WFP is operating, Syrians in Lebanon UNHCR Registered: 379,264 Awaiting Registration: 95,197 Total: 474,461 especially in northern Lebanon where shelling has continued around villages in proximity of the border. After 47 days, Lebanon and Syria reached an agreement to facilitate the entrance of the Lebanese trucks into Syria and to provide secure passage for Syrian trucks through Lebanese territories after an incident earlier where fuel trucks have been burned heading to Damascus. Although WFP was not directly affected by the incident, WFP can now resume its regular practice of using the border crossing. WFP food assistance for the May cycle is planned to reach over 380,000 people in need, both though food vouchers and food parcels. WFP s Response inside Syria and 3
Challenges With continuing security incidents and border tensions in the north, WFP remains concerned about access and its operational continuity in these areas. The growing number of refugees is raising tensions between host communities and refugees and remains a concern throughout Lebanon. WFP Food Assistance in Lebanon: July 2012 - April 2013 * I received 7 vouchers and just used 3 vouchers and left 4 for later. I am so happy. I can now buy all the items I need. In two weeks time, I come again to buy whatever I need. The suffering is finally over. No more eating bulgur every day. These days are over. The UN is helping us and we are grateful. Um Abdou, a Syrian refugee from Aleppo living in Beirut, Lebanon Turkey Three WFP staff members were relocated from Hatay province following the bombing in Reyhanli on 11 May and increased tensions between the Turkish population and Syrian refugees. On the 15th of May, WFP and the Turkish Red Crescent (TRC) expanded the Electronic Food Card Programme (e-vouchers) into Osmaniye- Cevdetiye (7,700), and on the 17th of May the programme expanded into Kahramanmaraş (15,600). In line with this expansion, WFP and TRC staff worked ongoing during the week to prepare the cards, train the camp managers, refugees and shop staff about the programme in order to complete the distribution. * TFD is for new refugee arrivals awaiting registration Food voucher (WFP/Marco Frattini) Syrians in Turkey UNHCR Registered: 317,430 Awaiting Registration: 30,385 Total: 347,815 WFP recently expanded its electronic food card to Harran camp where people have been previously receiving daily hot meals from the Turkish Government. Despite the high standard quality of the hot meals, refugees were very satisfied that they can now cook their own meals. Some of them have been in this camp for over 6 months and for the first time they are able to choose what to eat. WFP s Response inside Syria and 4
Monitoring Supermarkets in camps where WFP and Turkish Red Crescent (TRC) e- voucher system is in place, have recently begun to diversify the variety of food products demanded by Syrians. In Hatay for example, bananas, honey and pistachios are noticeably being included, increasing the variety of products people can choose from. In several camps, complaints have been received that food is rotting due to rising temperatures. As summer is approaching, WFP, the Turkish Government and partners, are taking these complains seriously and fans and fridges have already been ordered. It is expected that these will be delivered soon. WFP conducted several monitoring visits during the reporting period. In general, Syrian families were satisfied with the e-voucher system as they were able to select the products of their choice for family meals. In addition, many refugees mentioned that buying food with the e-voucher allowed them to maintain normal daily activities while away from their homes. Iraq At WFP s voucher distribution centre in Domiz camp, WFP has built Syrians in Iraq shade spots equipped with benches for both men and women, easing overcrowding in the centre. WFP has also instituted a UNHCR Registered: 147,464 numbering system that has improved waiting times for refugees. As a result the number of Syrian refugees served has risen from 400 per day to between 800 and 1,000 per day, improving the voucher delivery rate. The number of UNHCR registered refugees from the host communities seeking food assistance in Domiz camp is continually increasing. Many of these refugees stay with relatives in the camp and share their food rations. To avoid creating nutritional problems for the vulnerable families in the camp, WFP is targeting up to 45,000 already staying in the camp above the 35,000-40,000 camp limit. WFP is planning to provide a total of 85,000 Syrians in May with food assistance through vouchers and food parcels. Syrian refugees waiting for voucher distribution in the newly created shade area (WFP/Iraq) WFP s Response inside Syria and 5
WFP is currently preparing to install a rubhall and construct a distribution point in the newly planned refugee camp Dara Shakran, in Northen Iraq. This camp is intended to solve the overcrowding problems in Domiz and absorb the urban vulnerable refugees. While WFP is assessing infrastructure requirements for the voucher programme it will begin the distribution of in-kind food. Security Recent security developments taking place in the country are worrying WFP. In the last few days, deadly explosions, mainly Kirkuk and Baghdad areas, have claimed over 300 lives and left others injured. Sectarian tension remains high as violence is more commonly occurring. Egypt WFP is planning to reach approximately 25,000 Syrian refugees living in Egypt using food voucher assistance for the month of May. The vouchers will continue to target food-insecure refugees living in the poorer areas of greater Cairo as well as Alexandria and Damietta. UNHCR has advised that the current Syrian refugee profile includes arrivals from Lebanon, Jordan and Turkey. A recent emergency needs assessment report by Save the Children in Egypt identified Obour and 6th of October, where WFP is currently distributing food vouchers, as two of the largest areas of Syrian refugee settlement in Cairo. The report identified that the refugees are maintaining social networks although there is a feeling of temporariness, which can inhibit them from establishing mediumterm livelihoods. Syrian Syrians Egypt UNHCR Registered: 48,429 Under Registration: 18,493 Total: 66,922 Voucher distribution (WFP/Marco Frattini) refugees voiced paying rent as a major source of stress in addition to psycho-social issues, the expense of commuting to low-paid labour jobs, unwelcome offers to girls for early marriage, child labour, re-entering the school system after a long absence and challenges locating services in their new communities. WFP s Response inside Syria and 6
WFP and UNHCR are preparing a joint Code of Conduct that will be displayed at distribution sites due to observed crowd behavioural issues during recent distributions, particularly in Alexandria. The code includes priority for voucher distribution to vulnerable groups - including pregnant women, elderly and disabled - and discourages unruly behaviour. List of refugees by UNHCR number and corresponding distribution times are also being displayed at distribution sites to prevent overcrowding and reduce waiting times. Feedback mechanisms are also being established at distribution sites, in addition to the existing "hotline" telephone at the WFP office. Challenges The receipt and voucher reconciliation from April has identified that a particular store is still allowing refugees to purchase non-food items and single food items in large quantities. This is predominantly in Alexandria where paper vouchers are being used. WFP is investigating ways to mitigate these challenges electronically similar to the magnetic card system used in greater Cairo, which has proved successful. Conducting on-site monitoring questionnaires at the shop level is expected to assist in detecting irregularities and identifying possible solutions. (WFP/Dina El-Kassaby) Funding & Shortfalls With the heightened conflict, an increasing number of Syrians are in need of humanitarian assistance. WFP requires US$19.5 million per week to meet the needs of vulnerable people inside Syria and Syrians seeking refuge in neighbouring countries. Given the current funding situation, WFP will run out of food to distribute in Syria by the third week of July; WFP will be unable to provide assistance in the neighbouring countries by the end of June. WFP welcomed the critical and generous contribution of the Government of Turkey and Australia during the reporting period, contributions which helped to ensure the continuation of WFP response across the region. WFP is grateful for the critical support provided by multilaterals donors in response to the Syria crisis, as well as of Andorra, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Canada, the United Nations Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF), Denmark, the European Commission, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, India, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Kuwait, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Luxembourg, Norway, the Netherlands, Spain, Switzerland, Republic of Korea, Turkey, Russia, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, the United States and private donors. WFP s Response inside Syria and 7
Donors are represented in alphabetical order. For further information contact: Abeer Etefa, Sr. Regional Public Information Officer, WFP/Cairo, Mob. +20 0166634352 or E-Mail abeer.etefa@wfp.org Laure Chadraoui, Public Information Officer Syria and Neighbouring Countries, WFP/Beirut, Mob. +961 3 489925 (Lebanon), +962 795917987 (Jordan) or E-Mail laure.chadraoui@wfp.org Dina El-Kassaby, Reports Officer/Public Information Focal Point, WFP/Amman, Mob. +962 798674638 or E-Mail dina.elkassaby@wfp.org WFP s Response inside Syria and 8