Attachments
MARCH HIGHLIGHTS:
The link between shelter interventions and water/sanitation (WASH) interventions has been highlighted in several contexts during March. In Jordan, activities such as a joint field mission to Zarq and Rusafieh and the development of new shelter guideilnes for non-camp settings are helping to avoid duplication in the many shetler interventions that have WASH components like water tanks and plumbing. In Turkey, an additional 28 WASH containers were installed in camps during March. In Iraq's Arbat camp, tent foundations and WASH structures were completed for eight blocks that can house over 10,000 people, while discussions were continuing on a proposed comprehensive drainage project for Domiz camp.
Interventions to assist the more than 80 per cent of refugees in the region who live outside of camps also remained a focus. Since the start of the year in Jordan, more than 4,900 refugees benefited from home adaption kits and 4,200 were assisted to pay rent on time. In Lebanon, initial results of the shelter survey showed that the percentage of refugees living in apartments and houses decreased from 67 per cent to 57 per cent over the 7 months to March. The percentage living in informal settlements correspondingly rose from 12 per cent to 15 per cent over the same period. Almost 150,000 individuals in Lebanon, all of them living outside of camps, have been provided with shelter assistance since the start of the year.
In Lebanon, efforts are continuing to identify plots for formal tented settlements which, once approved, would provide shelter for 7,500 individuals.