Syrian Arab Republic: UNICEF Syria Crisis Jan-Sep 2019 Humanitarian Results
Highlights
• In Turkey, UNICEF and Ministry of National Education (MoNE) launched a nationwide campaign in September to support the registration of refugee children for the start of the 2019-2020 school year. Over 684,000 refugee children have enrolled and nearly 526,000 children benefitted from the Conditional Cash Transfer for Education (CCTE) Programme. Between July-September, over 50,300 individuals benefitted from child protection services and nearly 8,300 refugee children participated in structured, sustained psychosocial support (PSS) programmes.
• From July to September, UNICEF distributed school supplies and education kits in Egypt to 6,672 Syrian students to support their enrolment and quality learning experience for the 2019/2020 academic year. This year, 281 education actors from school, district and governorate levels have so far received training on public school admission rules for migrant children and how to provide necessary technical and administrative support for the process.
In addition, 12,278 Syrian students received life skills education in 2019 to enhance their resilience and foster social cohesion.
• In Iraq, between January and September, UNICEF has supported 75,614 Syrian refugees (51 per cent females, 43 per cent children) in Dahuk and Erbil camps with access to safe water (101 per cent of the annual target). Although funding remains limited, work is facilitated through continuous technical support to government counterparts.
• A month-long strike by the Jordanian Teachers Syndicate disrupted learning for over 1.5 million children, delaying the official start date of the 2019/2020 school year. Children residing in Syrian refugee camps, which are staffed by contract teachers, were not affected by the strike.
SITUATION IN NUMBERS
Almost 7.5 million # of children in need
Over 19 million # of people in need (UNICEF 2019 Humanitarian Action for Children)
Syrian refugees
Over 2.5 million children (2,539,536) # of registered Syria refugee children
Over 5.6 million people (5,643,414) (UNHCR, 18 October 2019)
UNICEF Appeal 2019 US$ 902 Million
Funding Status US$ 701 Million
Turkey
Situation Overview & Humanitarian Needs:
Turkey remains home to the largest registered refugee population in the world, with over four million refugees and asylum-seekers now registered in Turkey. Nearly 3.7 million Syrians—including over 1.6 million children— are under temporary protection, 96 per cent of whom live in host communities. Turkey also hosts approximately 370,000 non-Syrian refugees and asylum-seekers, including some 120,000 children. In addition, Turkey remains a leading transit country for unregistered refugees and migrants on the move. From July to September, over 70,000 refugees and migrants—primarily Afghanis, Syrians and Iraqis—attempted to cross by sea and land from Turkey into the EU, a 62 per cent increase compared to the same period in 2018. Of these, over 27,700 successfully arrived in Greece and Bulgaria, while over 25,500 people were rescued or intercepted at sea and more than 16,100 were apprehended on land by Turkish authorities. Of those who successfully crossed so far in 2019, approximately 37 per cent are believed to be children. The significant spike in irregular migration during the reporting period can be attributed to warmer weather and calmer seas, as well as an increasingly restrictive environment for refugee and migrant populations in Istanbul and other urban centres along the western and northern coasts.
Summary Analysis of Programme Response
Child Protection: UNICEF works closely with the Ministry of Family, Labour and Social Services (MoFLSS) and other partners to strengthen national child protection systems with the aim to expand the coverage and quality of services for vulnerable refugee, migrant and Turkish children across the continuum of care. During the reporting period, 50,305 individuals received child protection services and nearly 8,300 children participated in structured, sustained psychosocial support (PSS) programmes. UNICEF also worked closely with partners to strengthen their capacity to identify, refer and provide case management support to vulnerable refugee children. Between July and September, 38 UNICEF-supported outreach teams from MoFLSS-run Social Service Centers in 15 provinces assessed 4,000 Syrian households for protection needs. In addition, as part of the child protection component of the Conditional Cash Transfer for Education (CCTE) Programme, UNICEF and partners have assessed over 4,600 children with protection needs. UNICEF and the Ombudsperson Institution also organized a high-level provincial consultation in Gaziantep on child rights with the participation of children and key stakeholders, including the Governor and Deputy Mayor. Issues affecting children were discussed, including discrimination, bullying, child labour, school dropout and child marriage. UNICEF and OI will continue to lead such platforms to further promote children’s rights at local and central levels.
Education: UNICEF works closely with the Ministry of National Education (MoNE) and partners to expand access to all forms of education, improve education quality and inclusiveness, and support the retention of refugee children in schools, while also continuing to meet the educational needs of vulnerable Turkish children. With the start of the 2019-2020 school year in September, UNICEF and MoNE launched a nationwide back-to-school campaign to support the registration of refugee children. By end September, over 684,000 refugee children enrolled in formal education—a notable increase from 648,600 children at the end of June. Registration for refugee children remains open throughout the year, and more children are expected to enrol in the coming months. UNICEF and MoNE are closely following up on the closure of several camps in southern Turkey to mitigate any negative impact on school enrolment. In July, following an agreement between UNICEF and MoNE, Syrian volunteer education personnel (SVEP) received an increase in their monthly incentives to 2,020 TRY (approx. US $350), which matches the net minimum wage in Turkey. UNICEF currently supports approximately 12,500 SVEP in schools and education centres across the country. UNICEF and partners also continued to expand outreach and provide non-formal education opportunities for out-of-school refugee children (OOSC). During the reporting period, more than 6,000 OOSC were identified through outreach activities and referred to relevant education services. In addition, nearly 4,000 children participated in the Accelerated Learning Programme (ALP) and almost 1,500 children benefitted from Turkish Language Courses.
