Key messages

•Agricultural production in 2012 was excellent for all main products: cereals (+3.5% compared to 2011), potatoes (+16%), vegetables (+8%) and fruits and berries (+39%). Prospects for 2013 winter cereal crops are favourable.

•The prevalence of poverty slightly decreased in 2011, from 35.8% in 2010 to 35.0% in 2011 but remained much higher than in 2008 (27.6%).

•Food prices increased by only 2% in 2012 but the price of social bread increased by 11% from January to December 2012 reflecting wheat regional market trends.

Frequent small to medium-scale emergencies raged through the region in 2012, inflicting the most damage on rural households. Support from humanitarian and development partners was often necessary to help affected people back onto their feet, learn from the disaster and better prepare for future shocks.

YEREVAN, Dec 26 (KUNA) -- Kuwaiti Ambassador to Armenia Bassam Al Qabandi Tuesday handed over the sum of USD 100,000 to Armenian authorities as relief aid to Syrians who have sought refuge in Armenia.

According to a statement issued by the Kuwaiti embassy here, the aid follows the initiative of HH the Amir of Kuwait Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah.

YEREVAN, Armenia — At the newly opened Cilician School in this former Soviet republic, the textbooks are in Arabic, photocopied from a single set flown out of war-torn Syria. The curriculum is Syrian, the flag on the principal’s desk is Syrian, and the teachers and students are all Syrians.

Read the full story on the New York Times.

The atmosphere in the stadium is tense; the crowd waiting for the referee’s whistle that will kick-off the final. Spectators waving Red Crescent flags and national flags watch the players in Red Crescent shirts on the pitch, all eyes on the ball. With elimination matches over, the last teams standing want to take the cup and go back to school in two days time as champions of the Red Crescent football tournament.

Funds Sent To: World Council of Churches Armenia Inter-Church Charitable Round Table Foundation (ART)

Amount Sent: 39,143 USD

Date: 9 November, 2012

Details of Response

Emergency: Rapid Support to Syrian Refugees in Armenia

Date of Emergency: 08 November, 2012 (ongoing)

ACT Requesting Member(s): World Council of Churches Armenia Inter-Church Charitable Round Table Foundation (ART)

I. NARRATIVE SUMMARY

DETAILS OF THE EMERGENCY

1. Brief description of the emergency and impact

The armed conflict in Syria has caused 1,2 million internally displaced people and 360,000 refugees who are seeking protection outside the country (OCHA 2 Nov. 2012). Some 7,000 Syrians fled to Armenia where 540 families were registered so far by the Ministry of Diaspora as “families in need”. 90 families have filed refugee claims with the responsible State authorities, but in the majority of cases the arriving Syrian Armenians do not register by any entity as they consider Armenia their home country.

Natural disasters, including drought, earthquakes, floods, and wildfires, as well as ongoing complex emergencies and limited government capacity in the region, present significant challenges to vulnerable populations in Europe, the Middle East, and Central Asia (EMCA). Between Fiscal Year (FY) 2003 and FY 2012, USAID’s Office of U.S. Foreign Disaster Assistance (USAID/OFDA) and USAID’s Office of Food for Peace (USAID/FFP) provided assistance in response to a range of disasters, including floods, wildfires, winter emergencies, and complex crises.

This bulletin examines trends in staple food and fuel prices, the cost of the basic food basket, terms of trade and consumer price indices for 70 countries in the third quarter of 2012 (July to September, Q3-2012). The issue contains also a special focus on countries most vulnerable to the tightening of the global grain markets.

Highlights