October 10, 2013 - The escalating conflict in Syria continues to have devastating humanitarian consequences in Syria and surrounding countries. Today, the Honourable Christian Paradis, Minister of International Development and Minister for La Francophonie, outlined the details of $47.2 million in Canadian assistance to be provided to humanitarian organizations.
"Canada is deeply concerned by the escalating violence in Syria and the deteriorating humanitarian situation that continues to develop both within Syria and in neighbouring countries. We continue to urge all parties to find a political solution to this crisis," said Minister Paradis. "Canada was among the first countries to provide aid to the region and we will continue to work with our experienced humanitarian partners on the ground to deliver real results for those affected."
Canada's humanitarian assistance will help address the urgent needs of more than eight million conflict-affected and displaced persons living in Syria and in the region, more than four million of whom are children.
"We very much welcome the generous contribution made by the Government of Canada to the Syria humanitarian response at this time," said Mr. Nigel Fisher, Regional Humanitarian Coordinator for the Syria crisis. "The humanitarian situation for millions of Syrians remains desperate and with the intensification of the fighting, reaching people in need throughout the country, including in areas under siege, remains challenging. Therefore, additional resources to address the needs of people are urgently needed and will be promptly used by humanitarian agencies in Syria and neighbouring countries affected by the Syria crisis."
Canada's support will provide emergency shelter, food, nutrition, clean water and sanitation, education, and basic health services, including psycho-social and gender-based violence support.
"The Syrian people have been subject to appalling levels of violence and brutality and we continue to call on all parties to the conflict to provide unhindered humanitarian access and allow for the safe delivery of emergency relief to those in need," added Minister Paradis. "Canada will continue working to meet the basic needs of conflict-affected Syrians living in the country, as well as Syrian refugees who have sought asylum in neighbouring countries."
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Backgrounder
On October 10, 2013, the Honourable Christian Paradis, Minister of International Development and Minister for La Francophonie, outlined the details of $47.2 million in humanitarian assistance for Syria. These funds are the second segment of the $90-million commitment announced by Prime Minister Stephen Harper on June 17, 2013.
The first segment of $42.8 million was outlined by Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird on August 28, 2013. To date, Canada has committed $203.5 million in humanitarian, development, and security assistance in response to the Syria crisis.
Today's announcement of the $47.2 million is detailed as follows:
Humanitarian assistance in Syria: $7.8 million
United Nations World Health Organization (WHO) — $2.5 million
Canada's support will contribute to providing health care to as many as 6.8 million Syrians, including health and nutrition services to 563,000 crisis-affected children, through the provision of:
- improved access to health care services for as many as 6.8 million crisis-affected people;
- increased access to emergency health care services for 470,000 crisis-affected people;
- enhanced access to medical supplies for 20,000 post-operative patients;
- increased access to mental health services for as many as 3 million crisis-affected people;
- strengthened national surveillance systems, and public health preparedness and response mechanisms for epidemic-prone diseases; and
- improved safe water supply, and sanitation and hygiene services for 14 hospitals, providing enhanced access for approximately 1.5 million people.
Other humanitarian partners— $5.3 million
Canada's support will increase access to essential relief items, services, and activities for vulnerable populations and internally displaced people through the provision of:
- personal hygiene and cleaning products for crisis-affected people, which will result in a decreased spread of disease;
- access to psychosocial support for vulnerable individuals;
- increased access to emergency shelter for crisis-affected people;
- increased access to essential food and non-food relief items, such as cooking/heating fuel, kitchen kits, and winterization items; and
- increased access to emergency health care, essential medicines, disease surveillance, and essential support to health care facilities and professionals for the benefit of as many as 6.8 million people.
Humanitarian assistance in the region: $39.4 million
A) Projects at the regional or multicountry level
United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) — $7.2 million
Canada's support will help provide protection services and other humanitarian assistance to the Syrian refugees in the region through the provision of:
- improved access to protection and basic assistance;
- increased access to refugee registration services;
- increased access to shelter;
- increased access to essential non-food relief items;
- improved access to safe water, sanitation facilities, and hygiene assistance;
- increased access to assistance and support for victims of sexual and gender-based violence; and
- enhanced access to psychosocial support.
United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) — $1.8 million
Canada's support will provide a wide range of humanitarian goods and services to crisis-affected children, women, and their families, including:
- increased access to emergency health care for as many as 300,000 people;
- increased access to measles vaccinations for as many as 430,000 vulnerable children;
- improved access to safe water, sanitation, and hygiene facilities for crisis-affected populations;
- enhanced access to learning programs for vulnerable children;
- increased access to psychological support for as many as 130,000 children; and
- protection for particularly vulnerable children.
World Health Organization (WHO) — $1.9 million
Canada's support will contribute to providing health care to Syrian refugees, including health and nutrition services to affected children, to:
- strengthen primary health care services for Syrian refugees, especially women and children;
- strengthen the integrated management of childhood illness;
- improve the diagnosis and treatment of non-communicable diseases;
- strengthen the prevention and control of communicable diseases; and
- introduce water-quality monitoring services to prevent outbreaks of water-borne diseases.
Handicap International Canada — $4 million
Canada's support will address the emergency needs of as many as 90,000 vulnerable Syrian refugees in Jordan and Lebanon, including those who face additional barriers to accessing humanitarian assistance and are at heightened risk of exploitation. Targeted individuals will include those with injuries, disabilities, and chronic medical conditions, as well as elderly and isolated individuals, by providing:
- improved access to emergency rehabilitation care for as many as 18,200 individual with injuries;
- improved access to psychosocial support for as many as 90,000 persons;
- improved access to basic items, such as food, shelter materials, blankets, and hygiene kits for as many as 90,000 persons; and
- training for 100 humanitarian workers on the identification and protection of the most vulnerable.
International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) — $1 million
Canada's support will provide medical assistance to refugees in Jordan and Lebanon through the provision of:
- improved living conditions for as many as 150,000 Syrian refugees through the distribution of non-food relief items;
- improved health for refugees through effective and efficient access to emergency health care;
- improved psychosocial well-being for refugees through access to psychosocial services;
- improved food security and relief for refugees through the distribution of cash assistance; and
- enhanced operational capacity of national societies to respond or scale up their services.
Mercy Corps — $3.5 million
Canada's support will help provide water, sanitation, hygiene services, and non-food items to Syrian refugees in Lebanon and the Kurdish region of Iraq through the provision of:
- an improved water supply and sanitation, improved access to shelter and household items, and improved livelihood opportunities for 10,500 Syrian refugees in Lebanon and 4,500 Syrian refugees in Iraq.
B) Projects in Jordan
Canadian Catholic Organization for Development and Peace — $1.5 million
Canada's support will assist 12,250 urban Syrian refugees and vulnerable Jordanian host communities by providing emergency health care in seven medical clinics and centres located in the cities of Amman, Zarqa, Irbid, Karak, and Mafraq in Jordan. Project activities will provide:
- increased access to basic health care, medical tools, and equipment for Syrian refugees and vulnerable Jordanians;
- strengthened capacity of Syrian refugees to cope with conflict-related trauma, through psychosocial support; and
- a reduced refugee burden on Jordanian health facilities.
Oxfam-Québec — $2 million
Canada's support will provide access to urgently needed potable water, hygiene, cash assistance, and protection for as many as 11,550 persons or 2,310 households (Syrian refugees and vulnerable members of local host communities). This will help ensure improved access to:
- safe water and hygiene assistance for as many as 8,225 people;
- shelter and essential household items for as many as 5,225 people; and
- information and referrals for protection services provided for as many as 9,075 people.
CARE Canada — $2 million
Canada's support will provide emergency assistance to 4,500 unregistered Syrian refugees and vulnerable Jordanian households to help meet their emergency shelter, food, and non-food needs and to enhance access to improved livelihoods. Project activities include:
- emergency assistance to meet the most urgent needs of 4,500 households;
- winterization assistance for 500 households to help meet heating and shelter needs for winter; and
- non-food items for 200 vulnerable house-bound refugee households
World Vision Canada — $1 million
Canada's support will promote child protection and help reduce the risks of water-, sanitation-, and hygiene-related diseases for as many as 66,700 Syrian refugees and vulnerable Jordanians through the provision of:
- improved access to potable water for people within Syrian refugee and host community populations;
- secure, sanitary, and culturally appropriate water and sanitation facilities provided to schools, benefiting children;
- a sanitation and hygiene promotion campaign among targeted refugee and host community populations;
- child protection services provided through four child-friendly spaces, benefiting 640 vulnerable children; and
- strengthened community-based child-protection mechanisms among targeted host community and refugee populations.
C) Projects in Lebanon
CARE Canada — $2.25 million
Canada's support will help reduce the risks of water-, sanitation-, and hygiene-related diseases for approximately 20,000 women, girls, boys, and men (unregistered Syrian refugees) in underserved districts/sub-districts of northern Lebanon through the provision of:
- improved surveillance of water-, sanitation-, and hygiene-related indicators and diseases of refugees;
- improved access to safe water, sanitation, and hygiene for Syrian refugees and host communities; and
- a reduced rate of mortality and morbidity due to water-, sanitation-, and hygiene-related disease outbreaks.
Canadian Catholic Organization for Development and Peace — $2.75 million
Canada's support will increase access to emergency health care by Syrian refugees and host communities in regions such as Beka'a and Mount Lebanon through the provision of:
- improved access to emergency health for as many as 12,000 households;
- increased health awareness for 3,000 persons;
- improved hygiene conditions of 12,000 households; and
- a reduced risk of disease outbreaks among the refugee and host community populations.
Oxfam-Québec — $2.75 million
Canada's support will improve the health and physical safety of as many as 6,500 people (1,250 households), including Syrian refugees, vulnerable Lebanese host community members, and Lebanese returnees from Syria through the provision of improved access to:
- safe water, sanitation, hygiene, and protection services;
- essential household items, including winter items; and
- services to reduce physical risk.
Save the Children Canada — $3 million
Canada's support will address the immediate livelihood needs of 3,380 Syrian refugees and host community households in Akkar district through the provision of:
- improved capacity for as many as 3,380 households (16,900 crisis-affected people, including 10,140 children) to meet their basic food and non-food needs; and
- enhanced coping strategies for Syrian refugee families.
Action Against Hunger Canada — $650,000
Canada's support will meet the emergency sanitation and hygiene needs of an estimated 8,500 Syrian refugees living in the Beka'a Valley of Lebanon through the provision of:
- improved access to waste management systems in communities hosting large numbers of Syrian refugees in the Beka'a Valley;
- increased knowledge of proper health and hygiene practices for 8,500 Syrian refugees; and
- improved or maintained health for 8,500 Syrian refugees and local host community populations.
Mennonite Central Committee Canada — $600,000
Canada's support will increase access to essential non-food relief items and will improve shelter conditions for refugees living in unsafe and informal settlements through the provision of improved:
- access to essential non-food relief items for 1,000 Syrian refugee families; and
- housing conditions and better access to rental housing for 480 Syrian refugee families.
D) Projects in Turkey
International Federation of Red Cross/Red Crescent Societies — $1.5 million
Canada's support will help deliver immediate assistance to as many as 225,000 Syrians in refugee camps in Turkey through the provision of:
- improved living conditions via the distribution of non-food relief items; and
- enhanced hygiene conditions.
