Of the approximately 438,000 Palestinian refugees remaining inside Syria, over 95 percent (418,000) are in critical need of sustained humanitarian assistance. UNRWA distributed cash assistance to 410,157 Palestinian refugees in Syria, of whom 52.5 percent were women. As a result, Palestinian refugees will continue to rely heavily on UNRWA to meet their basic needs and enjoy a measure of protection in 2018.
Of the original 560,000 Palestinian refugees registered with UNRWA in Syria, the Agency estimates that some 438,000 remain in the country, based on the results of a 2016 verification. Finally, UNRWA aims to resume services in newly accessible areas where there is spontaneous return of Palestinian refugees and where it is safe to do so. High level of humanitarian needs: Nearly 60 percent of Palestinian refugees (254,000 persons) living in Syria are still displaced.
Therefore, the level of humanitarian needs and vulnerability is expected to remain very high, resulting in a correspondingly high dependency of Palestinian refugees on Agency support.
Cash Assistance for Essential Needs, Including Food, Shelter and NFIs
UNRWA will continue to provide life-saving items, such as food parcels and NFIs, to particularly vulnerable Palestinian refugees in hard-to-reach and besieged areas or in other situations of acute crisis requiring an emergency response by UNRWA convoys and inter-agency convoys, provided access is granted .
Livelihoods (Microfinance and Vocational Training)
Emergency Health
Education in Emergencies
Protection
The protection concerns of Palestinian refugees remain serious throughout Syria and critical in hard-to-reach and besieged areas, including parts of Damascus (YBB and Yarmouk) and the south of the country (Dera'a). The effects of armed conflict and the resulting displacement in other parts of the country continue to affect Palestinian refugees. UNRWA will seek to improve the protection of Palestinian refugees in Syria through various interventions.
In addition, UNRWA will continue to build the programs' capacity to strengthen case management and referral processes for high-risk protection cases, including unaccompanied Palestinian refugee children; persons with disabilities; the elderly; and those affected by violence, GBV, abuse and neglect. Dedicated programmatic responses, including regular service delivery and stand-alone initiatives, will be developed to support the needs of vulnerable populations. The Syria Field Office (SFO) will continue to develop initiatives and activities designed to address psychosocial trauma, particularly among children, the elderly and those affected by GBV and sexual exploitation.
Using a participatory approach, programming will be developed to address violence in and around installations, focusing on schools and remaining collective shelters. Legal aid will continue to be offered to women experiencing GBV through referrals to external partners. Mine risk awareness campaigns will continue to be conducted throughout the country with a particular focus on areas where one can return.
Protection monitoring, reporting and advocacy will continue to be prioritized through UNRWA's participation in global protection mechanisms and the International Human Rights System (IHRS), in line with the 'UNRWA Framework for Effective Engagement with the International Human Rights System'. The Agency will continue its advocacy in support of Palestinian refugees in Syria with relevant stakeholders, including with the protection sector of the Humanitarian Country Team (HCT) in Syria. Furthermore, UNRWA will focus specifically on monitoring the movement of Palestinian refugees who were displaced both in Syria and abroad.
Environmental Health
Safety and Security
Emergency Repair and Maintenance of UNRWA Installations
Capacity and Management Support
UNRWA continues to provide education, health care, relief, social services and camp improvement services to Palestinian refugees in Lebanon (PRL). The presence in Lebanon of more than 1 million Syrian refugees – in addition to PRL and PRS – contributes to high poverty and unemployment rates and puts further pressure on the economy and on already weakened services and infrastructure. UNRWA has continued to provide quality, equitable and inclusive education services to all Palestinian refugee children through its network of 66 schools in Lebanon.
High unemployment and the prolonged presence of Syrian refugees add an additional burden on already impoverished Palestinian refugee communities living in Lebanon. Through its Youth Unit, UNRWA in Lebanon plans to strengthen its support to young PRS and PRL by aligning its efforts with the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) youth strategy in Lebanon, including through education, livelihood support and innovation. Almost half of the Palestinian refugee population in Lebanon is under the age of 25, and 57 percent of the population is estimated to be unemployed.
The agency is committed to protecting and promoting the rights of all Palestinian refugees in Lebanon. Support for the host community PRL is also included in this appeal in line with the guidelines of the Lebanon Crisis Response Plan (LCRP) and the Lebanese government's recognition of the impact of the Syria crisis on communities in Lebanon. UNRWA remains the main, and in some cases the only, service provider for PRS in Lebanon.
This makes the PRS community in Lebanon highly dependent on UNRWA education and health services, humanitarian assistance and protection. Economic deterioration affecting resilience: The Syria crisis has left an unemployment rate of 52.5 percent below PRS in Lebanon. Considering that nearly 90 percent of PRS live below the poverty line and approximately 95 percent are food insecure, UNRWA will target 34,000 PRS with cash assistance, representing the total estimated PRS population in Lebanon in 2018.
Livelihoods and Social Cohesion
The increased numbers for hospitalization are related to the severity of the clinical conditions and increased PRS access to hospitalization, which is now 100% covered. At the start of the current academic year 2017/18, UNRWA saw an increase in the enrollment of PRS students. The capacity of UNRWA's teaching staff will also be strengthened through the agency's development and support structures to improve children's academic achievement and overall well-being.
In light of the increasing demand, it is expected that 19 scholarships will be made available to PRL and PRS students under this emergency appeal. These components are reinforced by cross-cutting objectives that contribute to improving the protection environment for vulnerable Palestinian refugees and the strengthening of humanitarian capacity, coordination and governance. High levels of vulnerability: About 95 percent of the PRS population will remain categorized as vulnerable or extremely vulnerable.
The purpose of the regular unconditional financial assistance component is to cover basic needs, such as food, NFIs, and shelter, and to facilitate access to services, including transportation, electricity, and water supplies. The three components of the cash program are interlinked to reduce vulnerability in a restrictive protection and assistance environment for the PRS. Syrian refugee students were enrolled in UNRWA schools at the start of the crisis in solidarity with the refugees, but this practice ended in 2013 due to resource pressures; The PRS will remain enrolled, and the non-Palestinian refugees already enrolled will continue their education until the completion of grade 10, the last grade UNRWA teaches in its schools in Jordan.
In response to the emergency, and taking into account best practices and implementing the recommendations of the Inter-Agency Network for Education in Emergencies (INEE), UNRWA will continue to undertake actions to address the specific educational and emotional needs of PRS students to accommodate. 120 days after the end of the reporting period 120 days 120 days Emergency Call implementation is reviewed. Within UNRWA, the Department of Planning is responsible for planning and coordinating emergency response activities, including the regional component of the Agency's Syria crisis response.
Under this appeal, a Senior Emergency Response Officer will be appointed to maintain oversight of the Agency's response to the crisis and to ensure that dedicated capacity is available for policy advice, emergency preparedness and response.15. When PRS are reported outside the Agency's areas of operation, the Agency collaborates with and refers cases to UNHCR and other partners to ensure that these refugees receive the support and protection to which they are entitled.
Education
Support provided by the UNRWA Gaza Field Office to the fewer than 1,000 PRS who have fled to Gaza falls under the regional portion of this appeal. With the support of UN agencies and local partners, these refugees receive food stamps and healthcare aid. UNRWA needs additional capacity to strengthen the planning, management, monitoring and evaluation of emergency interventions and the safety and security of personnel and refugees.
This is essential for the effective delivery of activities and for maintaining and building capacity to respond effectively to rapidly emerging emergencies.
Health
Infrastructure and Camp Improvement
Relief and Social Services
Event Causes Consequences Mitigation/Coping Mechanisms Risk Management Strategic / Programmatic Monitoring • Constant and unpredictable changes in the operating environment. Insufficient operational or programmatic capacity to implement plans • Lack of proper evaluation, planning and/or monitoring of plans. Consultations with community representatives, factions and government representatives • Periodic monitoring undertaken through Quarterly Management Reviews and six-monthly Performance Reviews.
Area staff rules and regulations for safety and security are not covered by the UN security framework. Poor systems in place to support service delivery, governance and oversight and informed decision-making. Maintain an emergency list of international staff trained and prepared for deployment to Syria's crisis response.
418,000 refers to the total number of Palestinian refugees eligible and targeted for assistance out of the 438,000 Palestinian refugees estimated to be in the country. This number is estimated based on the number of people in potentially accessible hard-to-reach and besieged areas, new spontaneous returns and Palestinian refugees facing acute emergencies. For more details on the Engaging Youth project, see: https://www.unrwa.org/tags/engaging-youth-project.
More details and costing of these activities are included under the repair and maintenance of UNRWA installations. Activities include: construction of elevated water tanks to replace old and deteriorated tanks; rehabilitation, upgrading and expansion of water supply networks due to the increased pressure of additional PRS families;. The agency's humanitarian response in Syria is reflected in the HRP, while activities in Jordan and Lebanon are covered in the 3RP.
