Attachments
UNHCR WINTER RESPONSE: PLANNING AND COORDINATION
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As temperatures continued to drop in Turkey in February, refugees living in the country faced increasing challenges. According to Turkish authorities, as of 9 February 2017, the total number of Syrian refugees under Temporary Protection is over 2.8 million, of whom around 260,000 live in 23 camps set up and managed by the Disaster and Emergency Management Authority (AFAD). Refugees and asylum-seekers from other countries, registered by UNHCR, make up over 295,000 individuals. Targeted winter assistance is being provided to Syrian and non-Syrian refugees, with a prime focus on urban areas.
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Preparedness plans were made jointly with the Turkish authorities and other UN agencies, using feedback from refugees from previous winter support projects through post-distribution monitoring, including individual interviews.
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An inter-agency Winter Assistance Task Force was initially established in Gaziantep in August 2016 to coordinate the winter support provided by UN agencies and I/NGOs, and was later moved to the Basic Needs Working Group. To date, eight coordination meetings have taken place, through which partners did a mapping of the geographic coverage of projects, and agreed on principles for identifying vulnerable households, implementation modalities and assistance amounts.
2016/2017 UNHCR WINTER ASSISTANCE PROGRAMME
WINTER SUPPORT IN CAMPS
- For refugees living in camps (260,000 individuals), winter packages consisting of winter clothes, high thermal blankets and heaters were provided to close to 250,000 Syrian refuges and 10,000 Iraqi refugees between 29 November 2016 – 10 February 2017. The Disaster and Emergency Management Authority (AFAD) is ensuring the distribution of winter items across the 23 camps in southeastern Turkey and UNHCR is monitoring these distributions in collaboration with AFAD.