Regional Situation Report for the Syria Crisis; Issue No. 90, February 1-29, 2020

UNITED NATIONS POPULATION FUNDREGIONAL SITUATION REPORTFOR THE SYRIA CRISISISSUE# 90FEBRUARY 1-29, 2020“Even though we have seen and experienced many hardships over the past years, I still believe that peace is not only possible but much easier to achieve than we all think.”— Mona, a survivor of gender-based violence form DamascusUNITED NATIONS POPULATION FUNDREGIONAL SYRIA RESPONSE HUBThe Regional Situation Report for the Syria Crisis offers a bird’s eye view of UNFPA’s operations within the context of the Syria Crisis. The report is prepared by the UNFPA Regional Syria Response Hub in Amman, Jordan, and spans operations conducted by UNFPA offices in Syria, Jordan, Lebanon, Turkey, Iraq, and Egypt, in addition to operations conducted inside Syria and managed from cross-border Turkey.In addition to providing aggregated quantitative results for each country, the report also brings stories from the field that highlight the plight of communities inside Syria and in host countries, in addition to underscoring the positive impact of the response services provided by UNFPA in the areas of sexual and reproductive health, gender-based violence, youth, and others. THE MISSION OF UNFPAThe United Nations sexual and reproductive health and rights agency.UNFPA’s core mission is to deliver a world where every pregnancy is wanted, every childbirth is safe and every young person’s potential is fulfilled.UNFPA calls for the realization of sexual and reproductive rights for all, and supports access to a wide range of services, including voluntary family planning, maternal healthcare and comprehensive education on sexuality.As the Syria crisis enters its ninth year, UNFPA believes that every Syrian woman and girl has the right to have access to affordable sexual and reproductive healthcare and be effectively protected from gender-based violence. UNFPA and its partners are scaling up efforts to empower and improve the lives of Syrian women and youth and impacted communities inside Syria and in host countries, including by advocating for human rights and gender equality, to better cope with and recover from the far-reaching ramifications of the crisis.UNFPA Regional Situation Report for the Syria Crisis2 IN THIS REPORTSECTIONPAGESITUATION OVERVIEWRESPONSES FROM ALL OPERATIONSSYRIACROSS-BORDER TURKEYEGYPTIRAQJORDANLEBANONTURKEYCOORDINATIONDONORS & PARTNERS467911121314151617OVERVIEW OF OF ISSUE # 90 / FEBRUARY 1-29 2020.The crisis in Syria has been globally recognized as one of the worst humanitarian crises of our time. As of 2019, more than 11.7 million people inside Syria are in need, while close to 5.6 million have taken refuge in neighbouring countries throughout the region. They continue to suffer the effects of nearly a decade of conflict, including disruption of community networks, safety nets and rule of law. Even as some parts of Syria stabilize, the crisis has long since passed a critical point in terms of generational change, and its effects will undoubtedly continue for many years to come. This is particularly true in the case of women and girls due to the deep-rooted complexity of the issues they continue to face on a daily basis.All photos shown in this issue, unless otherwise stated, are courtesy of the UNFPA Arab States Regional Response Hub. Moreover, unless otherwise stated, photos do not directly coorelate to the stories next to which they appear. Real names of survivors have been changed for confidentiality. UNFPA Regional Situation Report for the Syria Crisis3 The situation in Syria remains generally volatile, with violent tensions still impacting various parts of the country, particularly in the north. In total, more than 13 million people remain in need inside Syria, while nearly 5.6 million remain as refugees in Turkey, Lebanon, Jordan, Iraq and Egypt. Today, Syrian refugees are living in 125 countries across the world. Ongoing tensions in the country’s northern region continue to drive mass displacements. In January, humanitarian conditions in the region worsened considerably, with nearly than 586,000 people displaced in Idlib following a second wave of displacements that began in late 2019. The vast majority of those displaced are women and girls, further adding to the protection risks associated with the crisis. Access to healthcare continues to be an essential need for newly-displaced individuals and for host communities, including pregnant women. Multiple displacements and lack of access to basic services further exacerbate the needs of individuals and communities, in addition to significantly increasing the risks of gender-based violence (GBV).Additional displacements further strain already-stretched coping mechanisms of individuals and families, leading to desperate measures that further increase the likelihood of protection threats, such as sexual exploitation, forced and early marriage, amongst others. In response to these dire needs, UNFPA continues to provide services to people in need of sexual and reproductive health (SRH) and GBV integrated services, with a focus on the needs of women and adolescent girls. A variety of SRH services are being delivered, including antenatal care, family planning, normal delivery services, postnatal care, referrals, treatment of reproductive tract/urinary tract infection, treatment of trauma, and others. UNFPA also addresses the needs of women and adolescent girls by providing GBV response services such as case management, psycho-social support, clinical management of rape, and referrals. OVERVIEW OF THE SITUATIONDaraa, Al-Hassakah, Deir-ez-zor, Lattakia, Hama, Aleppo and Idlib governorates remain primary hotspots.THE SYRIA CRISIS IN 2020UNFPA Regional Situation Report for the Syria Crisis4 UNFPA Iraq continues to provide essential support to more than 245,000 Syrians currently taking refuge in the country. UNFPA Iraq launched its third Country Programme Document (CPD) for 2020-2024. The CPD, which was developed in collaboration with the Government of Iraq, United Nations agencies, human rights institutions and civil society organizations, is in harmony with the country’s priorities as outlined in the Iraq Poverty Reduction Strategy, the Iraq National Development Plan (2018-2022) and the Iraq Vision 2030. It also focuses on the four outcomes of the UNFPA Strategic Plan, 2018-2021, and the United Nations Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework for Iraq (2020 -2024).Currently, UNFPA Iraq is the process of launching its programmes for 2020. As a result, no data will be reported for the month of February. COUNTRY OVERVIEWIRAQ COUNTRY OFFICEUNFPA Regional Situation Report for the Syria Crisis12 Jordan is currently hosting more than 1.3 million Syrians, including 655,000 registered refugees, who face increasing vulnerability as their savings, assets and resources are long exhausted. Providing for their needs and ensuring their access to basic sexual and reproductive health and gender-based violence services is among the top priorities of UNFPA Jordan.According to the 2015 population census, the total population of Jordan was estimated at 9.531 million, including 1.265 million Syrians, who represent 13.2% of the overall population.Approximately 79% of Syrian registered refugees, representing 516,000 people, live in host communities in urban and rural areas of Jordan. The remaining 21% is settled in camps, either in Azraq, Emirati Jordanian Camp, or Za’atari. The highest concentration of refugees is found in the northern governorates of Amman, Irbid, Mafraq and Zarqa.UNFPA Jordan has been providing essential sexual and reproductive health and gender-based violence prevention services to Syrian refugees throughout the kingdom, whether in refugee camps or in host communities.COUNTRY OVERVIEWJORDAN COUNTRY OFFICEREPRODUCTIVE HEALTHGENDER-BASED VIOLENCEINDICATOR SINCE JANUARYNumber of primary health facilities 17Health facilities that provide Emergency Obstetric Care (EmOC) 2People reached with sexual/reproductive health services 22,073 Family planning consultations 3,649 Normal / assisted vaginal deliveries 200 Ante-natal care consultations 5,862 Post-natal care consultations 982 People trained on SRH-related topics 12 INDICATOR SINCE JANUARYNumber of women and girls’ safe spaces (WGSS) 18People reached with GBV programming / services 6,185 People provided with GBV case management 310 People reached with GBV awareness messages 3,592 YOUTH SERVICESINDICATOR SINCE JANUARYNumber of functional youth centres 1People trained on youth-related topics 9 With 1.3 million Syrians nationwide, UNFPA Jordan continues to provide essential services to refugee and host communities nationwide. UNFPA Regional Situation Report for the Syria Crisis13 Despite the ongoing instabilities in Lebanon, UNFPA will continue to provide life-saving services to people in need. Lebanon has been facing political, security, and financial instability, which has hindered the work of UNFPA across the country. On January 22, following several months of protests, a new government was formed, which will allow UNFPA to begin implementing its activities. UNFPA has received funding from the Governments of Sweden, Canada, Norway, and Italy, to reach women and girls with SRH and GBV prevention-related services, and preparations are underway. Some activities have already begun to be implemented in the month of February. COUNTRY OVERVIEWLEBANON COUNTRY OFFICEUNFPA Regional Situation Report for the Syria Crisis14 Turkey hosts the largest number of refugees and asylum-seekers in the world, which includes more than 3.5 million Syrians registered with UNHCR. Most refugees in Turkey are situated in host communities around the country, which has stretched the absorptive capacities of many host communities and resulted in tensions between refugees and host community members. As the refugee crisis in Turkey becomes more protracted, delivering support to national and local systems, with a strong focus on supporting women, children and youth, is more vital than ever to reinforce the country’s resilience. UNFPA Turkey continues to provide essential sexual and reproductive health and gender-based violence services to Syrian communities in need, addressing assistance gaps and organizing far-reaching programs that serve to protect vulnerable members of the community. COUNTRY OVERVIEWTURKEY COUNTRY OFFICEREPRODUCTIVE HEALTHGENDER-BASED VIOLENCEINDICATOR SINCE JANUARYNumber of primary health facilities 6People reached with sexual/reproductive health services 3,596 Family planning consultations 1,081 Ante-natal care consultations 561 Post-natal care consultations 268 INDICATOR SINCE JANUARYNumber of women and girls’ safe spaces (WGSS) 6People reached with GBV programming / services 24,243 People reached with dignity kits 2,354 People provided with GBV case management 244 People reached with GBV awareness messages 3,417 People trained on GBV-related topics 319 YOUTH SERVICESINDICATOR SINCE JANUARYNumber of functional youth centres 4People reached with youth programming 62With the largest number of refugees worldwide, turkey continues to provide much needed assistance to displaced syrians throughout the country.OTHER SERVICESINDICATOR SINCE JANUARYNumber of social service centers (SSC) 27Number of Key Refugee Service Units (KRG) 9Number of functional mobile clinics 12UNFPA Regional Situation Report for the Syria Crisis15 COORDINATION UPDATESUNFPA continues to lead the GBV Area of Responsibility, ensuring that minimum standards are in place to prevent and respond to gender-based violence in emergences. To ensure good coordination when emergencies occur, the Inter-Agency Standing Committee (IASC) has introduced the Cluster Approach. Clusters are groups of humanitarian organizations, both UN and non-UN, in each of the main sectors of humanitarian action such as water, health and logistics. In contexts where the IASC Cluster Approach has been activated, UNFPA is mandated to co-lead the GBV Area of Responsibility (GBV AoR), a body part of the Global Protection Cluster, which is led by UNHCR.As lead, UNFPA is accountable for working closely with national authorities, partners and communities, to ensure that minimum standards are in place to prevent and respond to gender-based violence in emergencies. In non-clustered and refugee contexts, UNFPA is co-leading with UNHCR. UNFPA leads the GBV coordination mechanisms. Through its Damascus-based operation, UNFPA is the main lead, while in its Turkey Cross Border operation UNFPA co-leads with Global Communities. In its refugee response in Turkey and Iraq, UNFPA co-leads with the Government of Turkey and International Medical Corps (IMC) respectively. In Jordan and Lebanon, UNFPA co-leads the refugee GBV response with UNHCR.In February, coordination activities for the WoS GBV AOR focused on the HRP project development, review and vetting of the HRP project, in addition to the finalization of the HNO protection chapter. The content of the Voices from Syria publication was also finalized and the final draft can be accessed here. The Wos GBV AoR also finalized the 2019 GBV dashboard to deliver 4Ws data for the entire year, with a total of 1,344,273 women, girls, men and boys reached with GBV programmes. Guidelines for the 4Ws for 2020 were also prepared, while the 4Ws GBV activity list was updated to better match field activities implemented by GBV actors. Meanwhile, the UNFPA Regional Syria Response Hub participated in the planning meeting for the Regional Accountability Framework on Child Marriage, contributing to the identification of knowledge, programme and advocacy gaps, as well as the key objectives for the year.In Turkey, the South-East Turkey (SET) SGBV SWG meeting was co-chaired by UNFPA in Gaziantep, with a focus the 2020 workplan, priorites, responsibilities and the timeline. UNFPA also co-chaired the Istanbul CP/SGBV Joint SWG meeting, which focused on finalizing work plans and terms of reference. The meeting also entailed a discussion on accountability towards people in need. Meanwhile, the National Protection Working Group conducted a two-day workshop to take stock of the current situation, including challenges, gaps and major issues. The workshop also served to document ongoing initiatives and to highlight good practices in relation to AAP across sectors. Lastly, the Syria Task Force meeting was help in Ankara with a focus inter-sectoral and sectoral workplans for 2020, 3RP financial tracking and funding analysis, and an update on the launch of the 3RP.THE SYRIA CRISIS IN 2020UNFPA Regional Situation Report for the Syria Crisis16