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Issue DH/7506 Tuesday, 3 October 2017

In the headlines:

• In Bangladesh, UN aid chief urges scaling up

response for Rohingya refugee crisis

• Relief operation in storm-battered Dominica ‘going

in the right direction,’ says UN official

• UN agriculture agency and World Bank launch new

initiative to avert famine in Yemen

• Pioneer of work in women’s reproductive health

appointed head of UN Population Fund

• UN and partners aim to slash 90 per cent of

cholera deaths by 2030

• HIV-related stigma, discrimination prevent people

from accessing health services – UN

• SDGs ‘take off’ in Nepal’s skies with UN

development programme-airline partnership

• Global Goals embraced by Japanese society, UN

deputy chief says, wrapping up Tokyo visit

• Iraq: UN migration agency assists thousands newly

displaced from west Anbar

• UN agency alarmed by largest influx of Congolese

refugees into Zambia in five years

• Cameroon: UN Secretary-General urges dialogue to

resolve grievances

• Dire lack of winter funding puts millions of refugees

in Middle East at risk, warns UN agency

In Bangladesh, UN aid chief urges scaling up response for Rohingya refugee crisis

3 October – With over half a million Rohingya refugees having fled their homes in Myanmar since violence erupted in late August, the top United Nations humanitarian official has underscored that the solution to the crisis needs to be found within Myanmar.

“The root causes of this crisis, as you know, are in Myanmar and the solutions need to be found in Myanmar,” Mark Lowcock, the UN Emergency Relief Coordinator, told journalists at a news conference in Cox’s Bazar, where many of those fled are taking refuge.

Noting that relief operations are gathering momentum, he informed the media that over the past six weeks, aid agencies have delivered more than nine million food rations, provided more than 300,000 with water and sanitation support, inoculated more than 100,000 children and provided some 50,000 with counselling and psycho-social

support.

However, the sheer numbers of those in need mean that much more has to be done.

“The conditions in the camps are terrible. We need to do a lot more to scale up beyond what we have done so far,” added Mr. Lowcock, urging the international community to scale up their support.

Woman in Cox's Bazar, Bangladesh, receives food from UN and aid

partners after fleeing Myanmar. Photo: WFP/Saikat Mojumder

UN Daily News

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UN News Centre • www.un.org/news

UN Daily News 3 October 2017

He also announced that, as the manager of the UN Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF), he today allocated an additional $12 million to relief efforts and enable humanitarian partners kick-start life-saving critical health care, access to clean water and sanitation and camp management in the new sites.

These funds follow a previous CERF allocation of $7 million, bringing the total CERF support to $19 million.

According to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), the number of Rohingya refugees who have fled into Bangladesh from Myanmar has now reached 509,000.

UN agencies, including the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF), the World Health Organization (WHO) and the International Organization for Migration (IOM), humanitarian partners, together with the Bangladeshi Government have been working alleviate the plight of those uprooted from their homes as well as supporting the host community cope with the scale of the influx.

Yesterday, a diarrhoea treatment centre was opened at the Kutupalong Refugee Camp, where refugees who have been living since 1992 have taken in thousands of newcomers. By the end of this week, there will be a total of 80 beds at the centres in three locations, with two more centres planned to open next week.

UN agencies together with the authorities have conducted an immunization campaign for children to protect them against measles and have launched another one against cholera. Similarly, UN humanitarian staff along with refugee volunteers, are visiting refugee camps and informal settlements to identify people who may be sick but have not sought treatment.

Relief operation in storm-battered Dominica ‘going in the right direction,’ says UN official

3 October – Two weeks after Hurricane Maria devastated Dominica, the island nation’s recovery is becoming more evident as the main port has reopened and supplies of food, water and basic necessities are being regularly delivered to the people, a United Nations Resident Coordinator in the region said today, while stressing that are still “major challenges” ahead.

Briefing reporters at UN Headquarters in New York via telephone from Dominica, Stephen O'Malley, who is the UN Resident Coordinator for Barbados and for the Organization of Eastern Caribbean States, said “the [relief] operation is going in the right direction.”

According to the UN Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), this is the fifth time on record that Dominica has taken a

direct hit from a hurricane, but never has it faced a storm of such ferocity and strength. The hurricane brought life in Dominica to a standstill.

“What was shocking to me was that the island, which was known as ‘the nature island of the Caribbean,’ was almost totally brown [in the wake of the category 5 storm]. But now, the green has started to come back,” he said, noting that this progress is being matched on the ground, where the situation has begun to stabilize.

Garbage is now being collected and roads are opening up, noted Mr. O’Malley, adding that power has come back to the capital, Roseau, and a few other locations.

“We are able to reach almost everybody now, and we are getting food water and basic supplies out to people,” he said, cautioning at the same time that there will certainly be major challenges ahead.

He explained that the World Food Programme (WFP), working with the Government, has distributed 60 metric tonnes of

A house destroyed by Hurricane Irma in Loubiere, about 15 minutes’

drive from Roseau, capital of Dominica. Photo: UNICEF/Moreno

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food last week to about 30,000 people, which is about half the population, and that more than 40 UN agency workers are on the ground to help the population.

The Government has asked the UN to work with it on a logistics plan to ensure regular delivery of relief supplies. “The Government is also focused on its recovery plan,” said Mr. O’Malley, noting that Dominican officials will head to Washington, D.C. and present the details during the Fall Meetings of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

“What we need to do now in Dominica is keep up this regular supply of the basics for people. Make sure the electricity comes up; getting people’s water supplies up; and getting markets open again; as well as health centres,” he explained, adding that the Government was also looking at ways to “get the economy off the ground,” especially as the reconstruction effort would be massive.

He went on to recall that the UN, its partners and the Government has last week launched an emergency appeal for $31.1 million to reach 65,000 people over the next three weeks.

Responding to a question, he said that looking at the broad swathe of devastation across Dominica, Antigua and Barbuda, Turks and Caicos, and other islands and territories that were affected by this summer’s series of category five storms, Mr. O’Malley said the recovery, over time, could cost as much as $1 billion, though he stressed there were no exact figures.

“It's going to be a large-scale rebuilding effort that will take time,” he said.

UN agriculture agency and World Bank launch new initiative to avert famine in Yemen

3 October – More than half a million vulnerable and food-insecure people in war-torn Yemen will receive immediate relief and long-term sustainable agricultural support, thanks to a $36 million project launched by the United Nations Food and Agricultural Organization and the World Bank.

“The project will have a strong humanitarian impact in Yemen, as it will provide emergency support and help in building the resilience of the vulnerable Yemeni population,” said Abdessalam Ould Ahmed, FAO Assistant Director-General and Regional Representative for the Near East and North Africa.

Yemen’s ongoing conflict has left 17 million people facing crisis levels of acute food insecurity. The fighting has also devastated agriculture sector and livelihoods, making the country the worst humanitarian crisis in the world.

The grant, supported by the World Bank's Global Agriculture Food Security Program (GAFSP), will prioritize FAO’s projects to boost productivity, income and nutrition, especially in those most famine-hit regions in the country.

The initiative will also contribute to sustainable agriculture solutions in the long term, according to Salah El-Hajj Hassan, FAO Country Representative in Yemen.

These solutions include “furthering rural development, providing food security, rehabilitating community water infrastructures and improving capacity development,” he said.

“The implementation of the project will also allow FAO to build on previous projects, such as those empowering women to become more involved in conflict resolution issues,” he added. “Given the ongoing hostilities in Yemen, this project could also contribute to bringing stability to the country.”

Two-year-old Badel lives with his mother and sister at a YHPF

supported Hammam IDP camp in Ibb, Yemen, in a room with three

other families. He is malnourished and sick with a bloated stomach

(March 2017). Photo: OCHA

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To date, FAO has vaccinated over one million livestock and it plans to assist over three million people who are on the brink of starvation.

Pioneer of work in women’s reproductive health appointed head of UN Population Fund

3 October – United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres today appointed Natalia Kanem of Panama to head the UN’s women’s health agency.

In making the announcement, UN spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric highlighted that Dr. Kanem “brings to the position more than three decades of strategic leadership and management in the fields of medicine, public health, international peace and development, human rights and social justice.”

Currently serving as the agency’s Acting Executive Director, the new Under-Secretary-General is the fifth Executive Director of the UN Population Fund (UNFPA). Prior to that, she was the UNFPA’s Deputy Executive Director for Programmes and earlier, its Representative in Tanzania.

She started her career in academia with the Johns Hopkins and Columbia University schools of medicine and public health.

While serving as a Ford Foundation Officer from 1992 to 2005, Dr. Kanem helped pioneer work in women’s reproductive health and sexuality, in particular through her position as the representative for West Africa. She then served at the Foundation headquarters, becoming Deputy Vice-President for its worldwide peace and social justice programmes in Africa, Asia, Eastern Europe, Latin America and North America.

Natalia Kanem, newly announced Executive Director of the UN

Population Fund (UNFPA), addressing an event on gender-based

violence in 2016. Photo: UN Women/Ryan Brown

UN and partners aim to slash 90 per cent of cholera deaths by 2030

3 October – A taskforce of United Nations and international partner agencies is gearing up to launch an ambitious new strategy to combat cholera – aiming to reduce deaths by 90 per cent by 2030, the UN health agency announced today.

“This is a disease of inequality that affects the poorest and most vulnerable. It is unacceptable that nearly two decades into the 21st century, cholera continues to destroy livelihoods and cripple economies,” said Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General of the World Health Organization (WHO).

With an estimated 95,000 cholera-related deaths, and another 2.9 million more people affected annually, the Global Task Force on Cholera Control (GTFCC), a diverse network of more than 50 UN and international agencies, academic institutions and others, will launch tomorrow ‘Ending Cholera: A Global Roadmap to 2030, which

pinpoints endemic ‘hotspots’ where predictable cholera outbreaks occur year after year.

“WHO is proud to be part of this new joint initiative to stop deaths from cholera. This roadmap is the best way we have to bring this to an end,” said Mr. Tedros Adhanom.

Cover photo from the Global Task Force on Cholera control

(GTFCC) report "Ending Cholera - A Global Roadmap to 2030."

Photo: WHO/Acland

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Urgent action is needed to protect communities, prevent transmission and control outbreaks.

The ‘Global Roadmap’ aims to align resources, share best practice and strengthen partnerships between affected countries, donors and international agencies. It underscores the need for a coordinated approach to cholera control with country-level planning for early detection and response to outbreaks. Through its implementation, up to 20 affected countries could eliminate cholera by 2030.

“Every death from cholera is preventable with the tools available today, including use of the oral cholera vaccine and improved access to basic safe water, sanitation and hygiene as set out in the Roadmap,” underscored the WHO chief.

Although access to water and sanitation is recognized as a UN basic human right, today over two billion people worldwide still lack access to safe water and are potentially at risk of cholera. Weak health systems and low early detection capacity further contribute to the rapid spread of outbreaks.

Cholera disproportionally impacts communities already burdened by conflict, lack of infrastructure, poor health systems, and malnutrition. Protecting these communities before cholera strikes is significantly more cost-effective than continually responding to outbreaks. The introduction of the oral cholera vaccine has been a game-changer in the battle to control cholera – bridging the gap between emergency response and longer-term control.

With two WHO-approved oral cholera vaccines now available, for just $6 per person, individuals can be fully vaccinated for up to three years of protection.

The ‘Global Roadmap’ provides an effective mechanism to synchronize the efforts of countries, donors, and technical partners and underscores the need for a multi-sectoral approach to cholera control with country-level planning for early detection and response to outbreaks.

“We must act together. And we must act now,” asserted Mr. Tedros.

HIV-related stigma, discrimination prevent people from accessing health services – UN

3 October – People living with HIV who experience high levels of stigma are more than twice as likely to delay enrolment into care than people who do not perceive such stigma, a United Nations report released today reveals.

“When people living with, or at risk of, HIV are discriminated against in health-care settings, they go underground,” said Michel Sidibé, the Executive Director of the Joint UN Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS), in a press release.

“This seriously undermines our ability to reach people with HIV testing, treatment and prevention services,” he added.

The report, Confronting discrimination: overcoming HIV-related stigma and discrimination in health-care settings and beyond, gives

evidence on how stigma and discrimination is creating barriers to accessing HIV prevention, testing and treatment services and putting lives at risk. It then highlights best practices on confronting stigma and discrimination.

“Stigma and discrimination is an affront to human rights and puts the lives of people living with HIV and key populations in danger,” Mr. Sidibé said.

AIDS hospice patients at the Shekhina Clinic for the Poor and

Destitute in Tamale, Ghana. Photo: World Bank/Jonathan Ernst

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Often, people living with HIV avoid going to clinics for fear of having their status disclosed or of suffering further stigma and discrimination based on their HIV status.

In 19 countries with available data, one in five people living with HIV avoided going to a clinic or hospital because they feared stigma or discrimination related to their HIV status, and one in four people living with HIV have experienced discrimination in health-care settings.

Where programmes have been put in place to respond to stigma and discrimination, access to services for HIV prevention, testing and treatment has improved. In one clinic in Namibia, a shift towards integrated health service delivery led to a 20 per cent reduction in deaths among people with HIV.

The report was launched at the Human Rights Council Social Forum taking place in Geneva, Switzerland, from 2 to 4 October under the theme of ‘Promotion and protection of human rights in the context of the HIV epidemic and other communicable diseases and epidemics.’

SDGs ‘take off’ in Nepal’s skies with UN development programme-airline partnership

3 October – Through a partnership between the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and a private aircraft company, airplanes flying in Nepal’s skies will bear UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) branding icons, disseminating the globally-agreed targets far and wide.

“This is a powerful example to show the world that in partnership with the private sector, the [2030 Agenda for] Sustainable Development can really take off,” Renaud Meyer, the UNDP Country Director for Nepal, said in a news release announcing the new aircraft livery.

“We are very pleased to see these airplanes flying in Nepali skies, spreading messages on how we can tackle some of the world’s biggest challenges,” he added.

In addition to the SDG-branded aircrafts, the partnership between UNDP and Yeti Airlines also includes the Goals features on airport shuttle buses and boarding passes, information leaflets on sustainable development, social media campaigns as well as a link on the airline’s website for donating to UNDP programmes in country.

Thousands across the landlocked mountainous country, including those residing in remote areas – where aircrafts provide a vital transport and connectivity link – are expected to be informed about the SDGs through concrete and action-oriented messages, noted the news release.

Also under the partnership, UNDP and the airline will undertake joint initiatives to raise awareness on sustainable development, and mobilize stakeholders and advocates for its implementation.

The partnership will also explore, adopt and promote innovative and sustainable business models in the aviation and tourism industry that would help Nepal meet some specific SDG indicators in the areas of climate change adaptation, poverty reduction and gender equality, it added.

The SDGs, adopted by UN Member States in 2015, have a specific goal on partnerships, including with the private sector given their potential to mobilize resources, technology and innovation to aid and accelerate the implementation of the overall sustainable development agenda.

“In Nepal, we have been exploring ways in which the UN could help the local businesses grow more responsible and SDG

UNDP Country Director for Nepal Renaud Meyer (left) and Yeti

Airlines CEO Umesh Chandra Rai aboard an aircraft bearing the UN

SDGs branding at Kathmandu airport. Photo: Laxmi Prasad

Ngakhusi, UNDP Nepal

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friendly,” said Mr. Meyer, expressing hope that more such “inspiring” joint initiatives will be unveiled to help the country meet the global development goals by 2030.

Global Goals embraced by Japanese society, UN deputy chief says, wrapping up Tokyo visit

3 October – Concluding her three-day visit to Japan today, United Nations Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed today noted how much the Japanese society has embraced the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) as a compass guiding to a more prosperous future for themselves.

“Throughout my visit, I have been impressed to see how much SDGs are embraced enthusiastically in Japan by the business community represented by Japan Business Federation (Keidanren), civil society, media, and young students,” said Ms. Mohammed.

Referring to her visit to the Paralympic Support Center at the Nippon Foundation, which is extremely inclusive in its barrier-free structure and in its workforce, as well as her meeting with the ‘Tokyo2020’ Olympic and Paralympic Games Organizing Committee, she expressed her high expectation that taking Paralympic sport as starting

point, Japan would open up towards people with disabilities as a whole. The Deputy Secretary-General shared these observations in her meeting with Foreign Minister Kono Taro today.

Ms. Mohammed also paid a visit to the exhibition at JICA World Square on ethical fashion titled “Fashion as Action: Supporting Sustainable Society Through Clothes.” The exhibition explains how consumers can contribute to sustainable development by being sensitive to how fashion items they buy are produced and disposed. The Deputy Secretary-General was extremely impressed with how these messages were communicated with fun in an innovative way.

Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed visits “Fashion as

Action: Supporting Sustainable Society Through Clothes”, an

exhibition of Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA). Photo:

UNIC Tokyo/Takashi Okano

Iraq: UN migration agency assists thousands newly displaced from west Anbar

3 October – With some 8,500 people displaced over the past two weeks amid Iraq’s military operations to retake Anbar province, the United Nations migration agency announced today that it is stepping up provision of life-saving assistance.

“People newly displaced from their homes often arrive dehydrated, suffering from hunger and thirst,” said Dr. Hamed Amro, in a news release while assisting recently internally displaced people (IDPs) in Rutba.

While military operations to retake west Anbar were officially launched on 19 September, many families – often children, women and older people – walk long distances, some for several days, often in intense heat, to reach safe areas.

“Many require psychosocial support and need medical care. Some have chronic illness and exacerbated conditions due to long term lack of care, and others suffer from malnutrition; we have also received a few trauma cases,” Dr. Amro stressed.

The International Organization for Migration (IOM) in close

coordination with the Ministry of Migration and Displacement in Iraq

is distributing non-food item kits to families in Al Habanyah displaced

from west Anbar. Photo: UN Migration Agency (IOM) 2017

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From early January through 2 October, IOM’s Emergency Tracking has identified a total of 54,546 displaced individuals from west Anbar, particularly from Ana, Al Ka’im and Ra’ua districts.

An IOM update shows that some 85 per cent of them transited through Kilo 18 screening site and are displaced within Anbar governorate. By district, Falluja hosts 25,300 individuals, Ramadi another 15,100 and Heet 3,100. At the same time, 3,600 sought safety in the Baghdad governorate and 4,400 in the Erbil governorate.

Since January, 32,886 of the total 54,546 IDPs are currently registered in camps, and 21,660 in out-of-camp locations – with 21,132 in private settings and 528 in critical shelter arrangements.

In Anbar, IOM medical staff are providing immediate assistance to nearly 1,000 IDPs per week through four Mobile Medical Teams working in greatest-need locations, including Falluja city, Ameriyat al Fallujah, Heet and Garma. All are identified in cooperation with Anbar Directorate of Health, part of Iraq’s Ministry of Health.

In the past two weeks, IOM has worked closely with Iraq’s Ministry of Migration and Displacement in distributing 795 non-food item kits, including a plastic cool box and rechargeable fan, to families in Al Habanyah – in addition to 500 kits previously distributed to those not living in camps in Heet. Additional distributions are scheduled for the coming week.

“Life in Al-Ka’im city, under the control of ISIL, was extremely difficult,” said Ahmed, who, according to IOM, was displaced with his family of six to Haditha district, Anbar, in a perilous and long journey.

“I hired smugglers to help my wife, four children, my mother and myself to escape. They drove us early morning through unpaved roads. Now we are displaced and living in an unfinished building; we have spent all our limited savings and have no money to cover our needs. The supplies we received today will help us get through this difficult time,” Ahmed told IOM staff at an aid distribution.

UN agency alarmed by largest influx of Congolese refugees into Zambia in five years

3 October – Growing violence in south-eastern areas of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) has driven at least 3,360 refugees into northern Zambia over the past month, the United Nations refugee agency said today, warning that the humanitarian needs of the displaced could intensify on both sides of the border as the rainy season approaches.

“This is the largest influx of Congolese refugees into Zambia in the past five years,” Andrej Mahecic, a spokesperson for the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) told reporters in Geneva.

The refugees and asylum-seekers, mainly from the Congolese provinces of Haut-Katanga and Tanganyika, are escaping inter-ethnic clashes, as well as fighting between Congolese security forces and militia groups.

“Those arriving in Zambia report extreme brutality, with civilians being killed, women raped, property looted and houses set alight,” Mr. Mahecic said.

Some 60 per cent of those arriving in Zambia are children. Many show signs of malnutrition. Malaria, respiratory problems, dysentery and skin infections are common among the refugees.

The Zambian Government, UNHCR and the Zambian Red Cross are distributing hot and providing psycho-social support for survivors of sexual and gender-based violence. The humanitarian response team is delivering basic items, including

At Nchelenge Transit Centre in Chiengi, Luapula Province, northern

Zambia, Congolese refugees receive one of their three hot meals per

day, provided by local authorities and UNHCR. Photo:

UNHCR/Pumla Rulashe

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tents, plastic sheeting, mosquito nets, blankets, buckets, hygiene kits and soap. Temporary shelters are being erected, boreholes are being drilled for drinking water and temporary latrines are being constructed.

Because of overcrowding, UNHCR has started work on a second transit facility to receive the growing number of new arrivals. A more permanent settlement will also be developed, with a social infrastructure where new arrivals will be able to stay for longer and develop some self-sufficiency.

Since the beginning of 2017, about 5,761 Congolese have crossed the border into Zambia. In total, there are 27,338 Congolese refugees and asylum seekers in that country.

Meanwhile, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) is scaling up its displacement assessments and emergency activities in Tanganyika as well as the Kasai province.

Increased ethnic violence throughout these provinces has uprooted more than 1.4 million people over the past few months, bringing the total number of internally displaced nationwide to some 3.4 million.

In Tanganyika province, the UN migration agency has carried out a survey in six of the 12 displacement sites in and around the city of Kalemie to collect information on the profile, needs and intentions of the displaced, including on their return and reintegration requirements.

The survey will be conducted at the remaining sites in the following weeks. According to IOM’s database, as of September 2017, an estimated 90,000 individuals reside in these sites in precarious conditions.

“The data collected during this assessment will provide useful information to IOM and its partners on the needs and intentions of internally displaced persons,” said IOM’s Displacement Tracking Matrix (DTM) expert, Stephanie Daviot. “It will also allow us to better target the assistance to those most vulnerable on the sites.”

In Central Kasai province, DTM has identified around 197,000 internally displaced persons and 490,000 returnees in 1,809 villages.

The DTM assessments in Central Kasai will continue over the upcoming weeks and provide an overview of the displacement situation in the entire province by the end of October.

Cameroon: UN Secretary-General urges dialogue to resolve grievances

3 October – Strongly condemning recent violence in south-west and north-west regions of Cameroon, including reported loss of life, United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres has urged all stakeholders to refrain from any further acts of violence and called on the authorities to investigate the incidents.

In a statement attributable to his spokesperson, the Mr. Guterres urged “political leaders on both sides to appeal to their followers to refrain from any further acts of violence, and to unequivocally condemn all actions that undermine the peace, stability and unity of the country.”

“[He] takes note of the calls by the authorities for dialogue and encourages representatives of the Anglophone community to seize the opportunity in their quest for solutions to the community's grievances, within the framework of the Cameroonian constitution,” the statement

added.

United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres. UN Photo/Evan

Schneider

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The UN Daily News is prepared at UN Headquarters in New York by the News Services Section

of the News and Media Division, Department of Public Information (DPI)

The Secretary-General reiterates the support of the United Nations for such efforts, through the UN Regional Office for Central Africa (UNOCA), the statement noted.

Dire lack of winter funding puts millions of refugees in Middle East at risk, warns UN agency

3 October – Dwindling resources could severely jeopardize efforts to provide refugees and displaced persons across the Middle East with essential winter supplies such as thermal blankets and warm clothing, the United Nations refugee agency has warned.

For many it will be the seventh consecutive winter in displacement, living in tents or in makeshift settlements in near-freezing temperatures.

“We estimate that as many as four million are at extreme risk and need timely and substantial help to properly prepare for the forthcoming winter [and] of these only one in four are likely to get the assistance they need,” said Andrej Mahecic, a spokesperson for the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), calling for greater funding for the agency’s response plan to ensure help is

provided to all in desperate need.

According to estimates, there are nearly 15 million Syrian and Iraqi refugees and internally displaced persons across the region, in Turkey, Lebanon, Jordan, Egypt, Syria and Iraq.

With their needs rising significantly during winter due to the harsh conditions, ensuring sufficient funding for UN agency’s Regional Winter Assistance Plan for 2017/2018 (amounting to $245 million but only 26 per cent funded) is critical, the spokesperson noted.

“Without proper help, many refugee families end up being pushed further into debt and come under increased pressure to resort to desperate steps to try to make ends meet. Women and children are especially affected,” Mr. Mahecic added.

Throughout this autumn (September-November), UNHCR plans to provide cash assistance, distribute winter items and invest in preparation, insulation and repairs of shelters, as well as improve drainage in the camps.

With sufficient funding, the Regional Plan will ensure basic winter necessities – including blankets, clothing, tarpaulin and fuel – are provided to refugees and displaced persons. It will also assist those living below the poverty line with a special assistance programme.

More than 50 per cent of the assistance package is scheduled to be delivered in cash which would allow refugees and the internally displaced to address their priorities and meet urgent needs.

Displaced Syrians receive UNICEF winter clothing kits. Photo:

UNICEF/Aho Yousef

Documents

UN News UN Daily News - United Nations · While serving as a Ford Foundation Officer from 1992 to 2005, Dr. Kanem helped pioneer work in women’s reproductive health and sexuality,