Projekte

Kurzbeschreibung:

Projektziel

Food-insecure populations affected by the crisis, including host communities, internally displaced persons and returnees across all governorates in the Syrian Arab Republic, meet their basic food and nutrition needs all year round (ICSP 2022-2023, Strategic Outcome 1).

Erwartete Ergebnisse

WFP's ICSP in Syria contributes towards the Sustainable Development Goals 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 11 and 17, both directly and indirectly. Specifically, the multi-year country programme aims at contributing to the following Strategic Outcomes:

• Strategic Outcome 1: Food-insecure populations affected by the crisis, including host communities, internally displaced persons and returnees across all governorates in the Syrian Arab Republic, meet their basic food and nutrition needs all year round.

• Strategic Outcome 2: Food-insecure communities in targeted areas are able to meet their food and nutrition needs throughout the year thanks to resilient livelihoods and restored access to basic services.

• Strategic Outcome 3: Nutritionally vulnerable groups across the Syrian Arab Republic, especially boys, girls and pregnant and lactating women, have access to malnutrition prevention and treatment services throughout the year.

• Strategic Outcome 4: Humanitarian partners across the Syrian Arab Republic are enabled to assist crisis-affected populations all year long.

Specifically, Strategic Outcome 1 has a dual objective of providing humanitarian food assistance to the most food-insecure women, men, girls and boys affected by the prolonged crisis in the Syrian Arab Republic and implementing school meal activities in areas hosting large numbers of internally displaced persons and with low food security and education indicators. Activities are focused on addressing the humanitarian needs of food-insecure Syrians affected by the prolonged crisis, including by using schools as a platform from which to reach hungry children and encouraging them to attend school, promoting stability, preventing the creation of a “lost generation” and addressing the urgent educational needs.

Zielgruppe

Under Strategic Outcome 1, WFP is currently targeting 7.75 million beneficiaries per month with monthly general food assistance and some 800,000 school aged children through its school feeding.

The contribution from Austria will enable WFP to assist 100,000 beneficiaries with General Food Assistance, comprising 58,000 internally displaced persons (IDP), 20,000 members of vulnerable host communities, and 20,000 IDP returnees.

With the additional contribution, WFP will be able to assist additional 110,000 beneficiaries with general food assistance for one month. In total, WFP thus is targeting a cumulative 210,000 beneficiaries with Austria’s support.

Maßnahmen

Provision of general food assistance in the form of regular in-kind or cash-based transfers (CBT) monthly food assistance:

Under activity 1, WFP’s GFA programme responds to the critical food assistance needs in Syria and is considered a primary enabler towards the achievement of Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 2 (Zero hunger) in the country. WFP targets 7.75 million people each month with general food assistance (GFA). However, only with additional funding will WFP be able to scale up to this level, and the priority remains to secure the resources required to cover the currently reached 5.6 million people before adding additional beneficiaries. WFP provides GFA to IDPs in camps as well as in host communities, IDP returnees, refugees, as well as vulnerable crisis-affected resident households. WFP has been forced to slightly reduce food rations in all areas of Syria due to funding constraints and increasing global food prices. Food rations were reduced from 1,341 to 1,177 kcal per person per day in the north-western Syria cross-border operation. Food rations have already been reduced from 1,220 to 995 kcal per person per day elsewhere due to global supply chain challenges. Food rations in camp settings will be maintained at 2,018 kcal. The food ration contains dry food items that are staples in the Syrian diet, such as chickpeas, and rice, oil, wheat flour and sugar.

Provision of school meals for pre- and primary schoolchildren in regular schools and CBTs to out-of-school children enrolled in informal education or alternate learning opportunities:

WFP’s School Feeding activity aims to enhance the health and nutrition status of children, to incentivize families to send children to school, and to restore and stabilize access to education in areas hosting large numbers of IDPs and with low food security and education indicators. School feeding is an integral part of WFP’s emergency response as it ensures that children impacted by the crisis receive basic and targeted nutritional support. The date bars provided are not only a snack but provide children with a regular intake of 11 vitamins and three minerals providing a key source of micro-nutrients. They provide approximately 340 kcal, complement the family food basket, and contribute to overall food security. Finally, the nutritional support enables children to return to or stay in school, a key priority in Syria. The programme’s aim was to promote access to education during the peak of the crisis, while providing pupils with essential micronutrients and cover 70 percent of their daily nutritional requirements.

WFP also provides support to children enrolled in the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF)-supported “Curriculum B” accelerated learning programme. The Curriculum B programme is designed to enable out-of-school children who have missed years of school due to the crisis to catch up to their peers and to re-integrate into the formal education system. A voucher modality was implemented to support families by covering food related expenses. Conditional to 80 percent attendance, families of the school children are provided with a monthly value voucher enabling them to buy fresh food items at WFP-contracted retailers.

Hintergrundinformation

Syria has entered one of the most volatile economic periods in recent years - possibly eclipsing even the worst of effects experienced during the Lebanese crisis. At this stage, with no livelihood opportunities, a government struggling to maintain its national subsidy programmes, and increasing market volatility as a repercussion from the Ukraine conflict, there remains little cushion left for the 14.6 million people currently considered in need of humanitarian assistance. National safety nets are showing signs of strain amidst the rising levels of vulnerability and poverty. Prior to Ukraine, the Government of Syria removed 600,000 households from the subsidized commodities safety net in January 2022. Considering 90 percent of the Syrian population live below the poverty line, any further cuts to national safety nets will have devastating consequences. Currently 1.9 million Syrians are ‘at risk’ of food insecurity with any additional ‘shock’ capable of destabilizing millions of households. With the income deficit gap widening and food prices skyrocketing, people are suffering at greater levels now than even at the height of the Syrian crisis. Based on deteriorating macro-economic conditions Syria will remain most likely within the top ten most food -secure countries globally for 2022 highlighting the need for sustained humanitarian assistance.