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Jordan Refugee Response: Providing life-saving assistance at the north-east border - 4 July 2017

Attachments

Situation Overview

  • The continuation of the second cycle of humanitarian aid deliveries to the populations in the north-east Jordan-Syria border is expected to resume in the first week of July. An estimated 45,000 - 50,000 people are stranded at two remote locations – Hadalat and Rukban – at the berm. A variety of factors including security, crowd control and sand storms has resulted in irregular deliveries to the Rukban area. Between 7th May and 15 June, when the last deliveries were possible, 35,451 individuals received aid including food, hygiene kits, dignity kits, solar lamps and jerry cans. Some 72 per cent of those in receipt of assistance were women and children. The humanitarian situation is dire and is exacerbated by extreme seasonal temperatures and a volatile security environment.

  • An innovative aspect of this distribution has been the introduction of biometrics; the iris scan of individuals has been captured, avoiding the duplication of assistance and ensuring that assistance is going to each head of household.

  • An emergency vaccination campaign was successfully concluded during the first week of June. The campaign was undertaken by UN agencies in coordination with the Ministry of Health. The campaign reached over 15,000 children and infants with polio vaccinations and vitamin A to counter the threat of vaccine-derived polio viruses, recently reported in Syria. The vaccination campaign was conducted by Syrian health workers operating north of the Jordanian berm.

  • A second round of vaccinations is to be conducted at the health clinic. The campaign is scheduled to begin in mid-July and will cater for measles and tetanus vaccination.