Attachments
UNHCR is also appealing for its response to displacement inside Lebanon and across the border into the Syrian Arab Republic (Syria). Ongoing hostilities and displacement orders in Lebanon continue to displace people - more than 600,000 as of 8 October 2024, according to the UN. UNHCR is working with humanitarian partners and the authorities to urgently find safe shelter and provide people with essential relief items, cash assistance, shelter assistance, medical care and other support. In addition, more than 250,000 people – both Lebanese and Syrians – have crossed into Syria in search of safety. UNHCR is coordinating the inter-agency response to the influx and leads the Protection and Shelter/NFI sectors in Syria.
INTRODUCTION
The Middle East and North Africa region continues to face compounding crises.
The number of Sudanese refugees in North Africa has increased substantially over the past 18 months, with more than 700,000 people approaching UNHCR in Egypt since April 2023 and nearly 69,000 new arrivals to Libya. UNHCR is working with governments and humanitarian partners to sustain an emergency response to help those fleeing the horrors of war; however, the regional response to the Sudan situation continues to be severely underfunded.
After more than 13 years, the Syria Situation remains one of the largest displacement crises in the world. Close to 6 million Syrian refugees are hosted in the neighbouring countries. Maintaining assistance to Syrian refugees in host countries in the region remains of paramount importance, particularly given the already heightened vulnerabilities among refugees in host countries and added pressure on host governments. A lack of adequate resources has exacerbated tensions between refugees and host communities, decreased opportunities for livelihoods and strained already overstretched national systems.
Years of devastating conflict in Yemen have left 18.2 million people dependent on humanitarian assistance. In Iraq, UNHCR also urgently needs resources to continue supporting the authorities in ensuring access to civil documentation and inclusion in the national social safety net for some 1 million internally displaced Iraqis.
UNHCR is responding to two refugee situations in Algeria: a nearly 50-year-old displacement of Sahrawi refugees in five refugee camps near Tindouf in the south-west of the country, and an urban asylum-seeker and refugee population of diverse origin in Algiers and other governorates.
Mauritania has hosted a significant number of refugees since 2012 and continues to face a large influx of Malian refugees; more than 100,000 people have arrived in 2024 alone. UNHCR is providing vital assistance to the most vulnerable refugees and invests in the resilience of more than 250,000 refugees as well as host communities in the Hodh Chargui region.
The number of refugees and asylum-seekers registered with UNHCR in Morocco increased significantly in recent years. UNHCR works to ensure access to asylum and protection under the framework of the National Strategy for Immigration and Asylum (SNIA) and towards the inclusion of refugees and asylum-seekers in national social protection systems.
Amid a rising trend in the magnitude and complexity of forced displacement and the importance of ensuring self-reliance and empowerment, UNHCR is re-emphasizing the approach of sustainable programming. While the principles underlying sustainable programming are not new, addressing critical funding gaps in MENA operations will support the processes related to sustainable programming in the coming years and ensure funding is used for longer term benefits to refugees and the countries that host them, and which will be tailored to each country operations’ contexts.
As the end of 2024 approaches, UNHCR’s operations in the region face a funding shortfall of US$ 1.431 billion. Below is an overview of the most critical funding gaps and potential consequences for vulnerable populations if additional funds are not secured. The UNHCR activities outlined here are part of the comprehensive needs presented in the Global Appeal and can be implemented by the end of 2024 with additional funding support.