Camps
Camp refugees, particularly the most vulnerable and the new arrivals, are in need of essential core relief items (CRIs) in order to meet their basic needs. In 2018 the prioritized response will focus on the provision of essential CRI consumables, such as sanitary napkins and diapers, to an estimated number of 17,200 children and 37,600 women, with an expected increase of 4 per cent of the children’s population. Basic CRI kits will also be provided to all new arrivals in the camps. In line with the CRI strategy, all remaining CRI needs in the camps will be provided in cash or voucher equivalent solutions, including cash for cooking, and cash for shelter, and the intervention will be targeted on the basis of the criteria that will be identified in 2017 through the camp assessment. Of the total estimated 141,000 individuals registered in the camps, between 65-75 per cent are predicted to fall within the vulnerability criteria and will be assisted accordingly.
Urban
According to the UN Inter-Agency Task Force, in 2015 a non-camp family of five would need 417 JD per month to cover their minimum expenditure for essentials such as shelter, food, education, protection, health services, and basic water and sanitation facilities. The monthly survival minimum expenditure basket (SMEB) was calculated as 250 JD, which would provide a family only with sufficient funds to cover expenditure on food, shelter, water and sanitation. Under UNHCR’s current cash assistance scale, a family of five receives 130 JOD, which is just over 50 per cent of the survival basket, and 30 per cent of the minimum expenditure basket. UNHCR assistance rates were defined, however, against the basic needs portion of the basket (rent utilities and basic household items), and therefore covers 75 per cent of basic needs portion of the MEB.
In early 2016 the Vulnerability Assessment Framework (VAF) data showed that 93 per cent of Syrian refugees are living below the Jordanian poverty line of 68 JOD per capita per month. Refugees continue to face challenges in providing food, housing, and healthcare for their families. 80 per cent of Syrian refugees living in Jordanian host communities reported having to resort to ‘crisis or emergency’ negative coping strategies, such as, inter alia, reducing food intake, taking children out of school, and begging. Moreover, UNHCR’s data shows that 75 per cent of Syrian refugees are highly or severely shelter vulnerable.
By the end of 2016, UNHCR provided cash assistance to 30,000 Syrian refugee households (approximately 140,000 people) in urban areas. Monthly and one-off cash grants help the most vulnerable refugees to cover their essential needs, such as rent, utilities, clothing and other household needs. They are an important protection tool and have proved effective in reducing poverty and limiting recourse to negative coping strategies.
In 2018, UNHCR will provide monthly cash assistance to 29,000 Syrian refugee families; however, without full funding of this plan, UNHCR will only be able to assist 15,000 families while the waiting list is expected to surpass 30,000 households.
Winterization
UNHCR’s winterization programme can only be implemented with adequate funding. This mechanism helps vulnerable Syrians meet their basic needs during the winter months in both camp and urban settings. Interventions include the provision of cash and in-kind assistance.