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Projects
Contribution to UNRWA Syria 2022
Short Description:
Overall goal
The programme aims at providing assistance and protection for Palestine refugees affected by the Syria crisis.
Expected results
- Strategic Priority 1: To preserve resilience through the provision of humanitarian assistance ensuring that the most vulnerable Palestine refugees meet their basic needs.
- Strategic Priority 2: To contribute to a protective environment for Palestine refugees by maintaining access to basic services.
- Strategic Priority 3: To improve the effectiveness and efficiency of emergency programme delivery.
ADA funding will contribute to Strategic priority 1.
Target group / Beneficiaries
With the Austrian contribution, UNRWA will be able to provide three months’ worth of cash assistance to 30,500 beneficiaries. This includes 10,750 Palestine refugees belonging to the most vulnerable categories and 19,750 belonging to other vulnerable categories, contributing to the third round of cash assistance in 2022.
The categories identified as most vulnerable are: people belonging to the following groups: i) female-head households, ii) families headed by a disabled person and persons with disabilities, iii) families headed by an elderly person and iv) unaccompanied minors.
The target regions are Damascus, Rural Damascus, Aleppo, Homs, Hama, Latakia, and Dera'a.
Activities
As per UNRWA Emergency Appeal and based on UNRWA needs assessments, each Palestine refugee in the most vulnerable categories will receive USD 25 per person per month (total amount per refugee is USD 75 for three months), while remaining vulnerable refugees will receive 18 USD per person per month (total amount per refugee is USD 54 for three months). As per standard practice, the budget for this grant has been calculated based on these figures, to contribute to the third round of cash assistance of 2022. However, in case sufficient funding is not secured for the third round, the amounts to be provided per person might have to be reduced. For example, for the two first rounds of 2022, due to funding shortfall, UNRWA had to reduce the amounts provided per person per month to respectively 15 USD and 11 USD. Should this be the case also in the third round, the number of beneficiaries covered under this grant would be increased accordingly.
Context
After more than ten years of conflict, the crisis in Syria continues to pose severe and increasing humanitarian challenges for the population, including Palestine refugees who are suffering from its direct repercussions and remain in acute need of assistance. The deterioration of the economic situation, the inflation in prices and the non-availability of basic commodities is driving the entire population into further vulnerability, with Palestine refugees particularly struggling to cope with the consequences of the economic crisis. As more than 91 per cent of the Palestine refugees in Syria live below the poverty line, the drastic loss of purchasing power during this economic crisis renewed fears about meeting basic needs in particular food. In this challenging context, the humanitarian assistance provided by UNRWA remains the only support for a large majority of Palestine refugees and the reliance on the Agency is expected to increase.