CARE Canada

Published purpose

February 2014 - The humanitarian situation in Syria continues to deteriorate as a result of the civil war in the country. The United Nations estimates that more than 130,000 people have been killed, with hundreds of thousands more wounded, due to the violence. Within Syria, some 9.3 million people are in need of humanitarian assistance, 6.5 million of whom are internally displaced. In addition, over 2.4 million Syrian refugees are registered and living in host countries in the region. Women and children are particularly vulnerable to the impact of the conflict and host countries are increasingly overstretched by the influx of affected people needing assistance. With DFATD's support, CARE is helping to address the critical water, sanitation and hygiene needs for up to 4,500 refugee households from Syria and 1,350 vulnerable Lebanese households in Lebanon. Project activities include: (1) installing and/or repairing household water and sanitation facilities and distributing water treatment kits to 600 households; (2) improving the capacity of municipalities to provide sufficient quantity and quality of water, and sanitation services for 4,500 Syrian refugee families and 1,350 Lebanese host community families; and (3) conducting health promotion sessions on gender-sensitive hygiene, environmental health and water management for 4,500 refugee families.