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Syria

Syrian Arab Republic: Cross-Border Humanitarian Reach and Activities from Türkiye (January 2022)

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CONTEXT

Between 18 – 25 January, heavy snow, strong winds and freezing temperatures damaged or destroyed over 10,000 tents in nearly 300 displacement sites in Idleb and northern Aleppo. The affected sites host more than 300,000 internally displaced persons (IDPs) combined, and the weather incidents impacted directly at least 57,000 people. Roads were blocked for one day due to accumulation of snow, cutting off access to the displacement sites and making delivery of humanitarian aid difficult.

Artillery shelling incidents continued most days in January. Airstrikes spiked during the last days of December and into January, then subsided significantly after 5 January. The NGO-supported Arshani water pumping station. was damaged in an airstrike on 2 January. It became fully operational by the end of the month. Reports emerged during the months that sewage water contaminated wells in the Idleb countryside, further threatening the main wells of Idleb city. 10,000 people in the villages of Kafr Ruhin, Murin and Boayba have been affected.

7,130 displacements were tracked in January. Around 60 per cent of the displaced persons in January moved to camp settings, while the rest settled in residential areas. The newly displaced people in camps were vulnerable against winter conditions. The reason for displacement was economic deterioration in prior locations.

COVID-19 cases declined for a fourth consecutive month, with 118 new cases recorded in January compared to 728 cases in December. Vaccination rate is still low despite efforts, with about 6,5 per cent of the population having received at least one dose by the end of the month.

Devaluation of the Turkish Lira (TRY) continued to affect communities across the north-west, resulting in increased prices. People become even more dependent on humanitarian aid and are forced to resort to negative coping mechanisms to cover their basic needs.

SECTOR ACTIVITIES

Education Cluster: Education cluster provided school aged children with textbooks, regular self-learning materials and digital learning materials, provision/rehabilitation of water and sanitation facilities in TLS/ schools, Rehabilitation of learning centers, incentives/allowances for teaching staff, non-formal education (NFE), professional development to teaching staff (active learning, self-learning, life skills), life skills based trainings, basic education materials, psychosocial support and recreational activities, provision of fuel for heating in learning centers and teaching kits, early childhood education (ECE) and awareness raising campaigns.

Early Recovery Cluster: Since the beginning of the year (January 2022), 21 Early Recovery partners reached 12,767 direct beneficiaries in 24 subdistricts and 73 communities.
In particular, 11,010 directly benefitted from the long and short term work opportunities, 766 benefitted from the the vocational and skills training opportunities, and 450 benefitted from the financial support including grants and seed funds and subsidized loans to businesses with high potential for job retention and creation.

FSL Cluster: In January 2022, a total of 1,864,593 beneficiaries were reached with food baskets (through in kind, cash or voucher); 323,194 beneficiaries reached with emergency food rations (RTEs [ready to eat rations], cooked meals and one-off food basket); 272,705 beneficiaries reached with mixed food items, 1,987,652 beneficiaries reached with bread/flour distribution.

Shelter Cluster: Shelter cluster provided rental assistance, construction materials/tools, emergency shelter kits (e.g. tents) and emergency shelter; also rehabilitation of private housing and collective centers. Moreover, shelter cluster provided information/counselling on housing, land & property rights.

NFI Cluster: NFI cluster provided NFI kits (in-kind, cash, voucher) and training of stakeholders on resilience oriented NFI skills and capacities.

WASH Cluster: WASH cluster reached beneficiaries with water provision via existing networks, water trucking and private boreholes, household water treatments, maintenance/ cleanings of communal sewage, construction or rehabilitation of communal latrines and household, Solid waste management, hygiene kits distribution, hygiene promotion and vector control. Assitance was provided at the community, camp, collective center and school levels.

Nutrition Cluster: In Jan 2022, 29 Nutrition Cluster partners provided life-saving nutrition services covering 184 communities in 32 sub-districts. Those reached included: treatment of 506 cases of severe acute malnutrition (SAM), 1,117 cases of moderate acute malnutrition (MAM) among children 6-59 months; 1,473 cases of moderate acute malnourished pregnant and lactating women (PLW); 12,700 pregnant and lactating women with multiple micronutrient supplementation and 1,674 children under 5 reached with multiple micronutrient supplementation.

Protection Cluster: Protection cluster provided awareness raising through campaigns and contact initiatives, case management, child protection and psychosocial support, including parenting programmes, develop community level referral pathways, legal assistance, material/cash assistance, outreach activities, psychosocial support, recreation and early childhood development kits, risk education, specialised child protection services, training of front line responders and humanitarian actors, women and girls accessing safe spaces and other socio-economic support.

GBV Sub-Cluster: The GBV SC initiated celebrating the annual campaign: 16 Days of Activism against GBV by developing a guidance note after consulting the sub-cluster members over the year's theme. The theme chosen is: "Let's Team up in Engaging and Empowering Women and Girls!". The members active in NW Syria were invited to participate using the above theme and share their reports.

The GBV SC conducted an Online Learning session on the inclusion of older women on November 24, which targeted 60 participants based in Türkiye and Northwest Syria of different GBV Sub-Cluster members. The GBV SC conducted Advanced Case Management training in Idlib, Syria, from November 14 to 18, which targeted 19 frontline GBV Workers of different GBV Sub-Cluster case management service providers. The GBV Sub Cluster conducted GBV Awareness-Raising Toolkit training in Gaziantep from November 15 to 17, which targeted 19 participants of different GBV Sub-Cluster partners that are using the GBV Awareness-Raising Toolkit that the GBV Sub Cluster developed in their GBV activities in NW Syria.

CP Sub-Cluster: This reporting period has been characterized by persistence of child protection concerns in North West, aggravated by COVID19 pandemic and its global crisis. Despite limitations in an increasingly restrictive operational environment, child protection partners delivered, while incorporating where possible COVID prevention messages and messages on childcare in times of isolation and unpredictability. Therefore, partners have continued providing child protection case management services, parenting programmes, PSS group activities and child protection recreational activities, in addition to child protection- related training, through online platforms.

CCCM Cluster: CCCM monitored the provision of lifesaving multi-sectoral response for 1.4 million IDPs in January 2022. This month, approximately 99 thousand IDPs were reached with CCCM activities, ranging from camp management and capacity building activities to community mobilization, site assessment and risk mitigation, site management support, as well as fire awareness, prevention and response.

Health Cluster: Health cluster reached 910,856 outpatient consultations; 15,229 people with referrals; supported 12,879 people with mental health consultations and supported 11,532 people with physical rehabilitation in January 2022.

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