UNHCR - United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees

Published purpose

October 2015 - The humanitarian situation in Syria continues to deteriorate as a result of the civil war and intensified violence in the country. The United Nations estimates that 12.2 million people inside Syria, including 5.6 million children, are in need of humanitarian assistance. Combined with 4 million Syrians seeking refuge from the conflict in neighbouring countries, this is the largest number of people displaced from conflict in the world. Women and children are particularly vulnerable to the consequences of the conflict and host countries are increasingly overstretched by the influx of people fleeing the conflict. With DFATD’s support and other donors, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) is assisting more than 623,000 Syrian refugees in Jordan, 1.16 million Syrian refugees in Lebanon, and 300,000 Syrian refugees in European transit countries. Activities include: (1) providing access to asylum; (2) registering refugees to ensure their safety and protection; (3) providing refugees with core relief items; (4) providing refugee households with the items they need to survive changing seasons (cold in winter, drought in summer); (5) providing temporary emergency shelters to all newly-arrived refugees and ensuring Syrians already in camps have appropriate shelters (6) providing protection assistance, including support for survivors of sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV); (7) training and raising awareness of community members on SGBV prevention and treatment; and (8) establishing safe spaces for women and girls.