WFP/Sepideh Soltaninia
Iraq
Refugee Response
Fact Sheet
Syria Crisis Response
APRIL 2015
Since the beginning of the conflict in Syria, over 245,000 people have sought refuge in
Iraq, 97 percent of whom are residing in the Kurdistan Region. Many Syrian families are
hosted by local communities, while almost 40 percent reside across nine camps. As per
government policy, WFP assists refugees living in camps only, making non-camp refugees
at times reliant on assistance from host communities.
Since mid-2012, WFP has provided food assistance to Syrian families through in-kind food
and vouchers. Currently, four camps are assisted through individual food parcels,
providing 2100 kcal per day per person. This includes Al Obaidi camp in Anbar
governorate, where insecurity has made the delivery of food parcels increasingly
challenging. In five camps, where over 80 percent of beneficiaries reside, WFP distributes
vouchers redeemable for food commodities at partner shops.
Since the start of its voucher programme in November 2012, WFP distributed vouchers
valued at US$31 per person per month; however, as of January 2015, the voucher value
has been changed to US$28.20 per person per month. Similar changes occurred across
the Syrian refugee hosting countries of the region as the food basket – against which the
voucher value is determined – was harmonized for all countries following the assessment
of dietary preferences. As of February 2015, the voucher value was further reduced to
US$19 per person per month due to funding constraints.
Voucher Assistance
In November 2012, in partnership with Islamic Relief Worldwide – Iraq, WFP began a
food voucher programme in Domiz camp, allowing beneficiaries to purchase food based
on personal preferences while providing them with access to a wide range of nutritious
items not available in WFP in-kind food rations.
As the number of refugees increased, WFP expanded and improved the programme to
meet the evolving needs of Syrians, opening additional retail shops for voucher
redemption to reduce overcrowding and increase market competition. Furthermore, in
an effort to ease the financial burden on beneficiaries, all three participating shops,
located some 3 km from the camp, began providing free transportation to and from the
camp. In January 2015, shops inside the camp opened to further reduce the
transportation burden on beneficiaries.
In December 2014, WFP transitioned from in-kind food to voucher assistance in
Darashakran and Akre camps, reaching an additional 10,000 people with vouchers. A
similar transition took place in Kawrgosk camp in January and in Basirma camp in April
2015. Assistance in Qushtapa camp will transition to vouchers in May.
In-kind Food Assistance
Since the start of the emergency food assistance operation, individual food parcels comprised
of dry food items such as pulses, pasta and rice have been distributed to refugees in Al Obaidi
camp, ensuring that each beneficiary receives 2,100 kcal per day.
In August 2013, when an influx of over 60,000 refugees entered the Kurdistan Region of
Iraq, WFP also begun providing in-kind food assistance to camps housing new refugees.
Since then, WFP has also distributed monthly family food rations, followed by monthly
individual rations, to refugees in camps established since the influx.
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School Feeding
In order to increase enrolment and regular school attendance of Syrian refugee boys
and girls, a daily nutritious snack was provided to over 10,000 students in fourteen
camp primary schools during the 2013-2014 school year. The school feeding
programme, which aimed to reach 20,000 students during the 2014-2015 academic
year, was designed to increase students’ attention in the classroom while improving
their nutritional status. However, no further additional daily fortified snacks were
procured due to funding limitations and the school feeding programme did not resume
with the start of the school year in September 2014. Unless additional funding is
received, WFP will be unable to support young Syrian students in camp schools.
Protection and Accountability
to Affected Populations
In camps assisted through in-kind food across the Kurdistan Region, WFP, with the help
of its cooperating partners ACTED and INTERSOS, is providing further support during
distributions to people with special needs. In consultation with camp management and
refugee representatives, volunteers and cash-for-work teams organized by cooperating
partners ensure that people with disabilities, pregnant women, female-headed
households and unaccompanied minors are given priority and provided with assistance
to carry their food parcels back to their tents. Furthermore, taking into consideration
cultural sensitivities, separate queues for women and men are used during both in-kind
food and voucher distributions in all camps.
In keeping with WFP’s commitment to ensure accountability to affected populations,
WFP operates a hotline, available to all beneficiaries. Refugees, authorities and other
humanitarian partners can use these hotlines to convey any questions or feedback
regarding WFP food assistance.
Future Commitments
In 2015, WFP plans to continue to scale-up its operations, particularly in the Kurdistan
Region of Iraq, to assist all vulnerable Syrian refugees. Key aspects of WFP’s plans for
food assistance by the end of 2015 include:
Expansion of Voucher Assistance: WFP plans to transition all camps where there is
retail interest to voucher assistance as monitoring activities have repeatedly shown that
refugees prefer vouchers to in-kind food assistance. The UNHCR/REACH Multi-Sector
Needs Assessment conducted in camps in early 2014 found that WFP’s food voucher
programme “has had a resoundingly positive impact on the food security situation of
refugees in the camps where it has been implemented.”
E-Card Pilot: A 150 household e-card pilot will be implemented during the second
quarter of 2015, and e-cards will be rolled-out in all camps if the pilot is successful. The
WFP e-card is designed with the possibility to include additional agencies, should they
wish to join, allowing it to serve as an inter-agency OneCard platfrom. With e-cards,
beneficiaries will no longer need to attend large-scale monthly distributions as food
assistance will automatically be transferred to the cards each month and will be able to
purchase food as many times as needed throughout the month.
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Targeting in Camps and Assistance to Non-Camp Refugees: The results of the
UNHCR/WFP Joint Assessment Mission conducted in mid-2014 indicate that it is
possible to conduct a vulnerability targeting exercise in camps. As a result, following
the identification of vulnerability targeting criteria jointly with UNHCR, WFP will
introduce targeted assistance in camps, ensuring that it reaches the most vulnerable
refugees. An inter-agency assessment is planned for the coming month. Any expansion
of WFP food assistance into communities will also be based on a targeted approach to
ensure assistance reaches Syrian refugees most in need.
Challenges
Funding: Sustainable funding continues to be the greatest challenge to effective
programming, and may lead WFP to further reduce its assistance and re-evaluate
future plans. If sufficient funding is not received, the expansion of WFP’s voucher
programme to all camps across the Kurdistan Region may be delayed or stopped,
preventing the injection of millions of dollars into the local economy and negatively
impacting WFP’s reputation amongst key stakeholders including the Government,
partners, beneficiaries and the retail community. Furthermore, despite advocacy
efforts to assist non-camp Syrians, WFP may be unable to include vulnerable refugees
residing in host communities as part of its caseload, irrespective of government policy.
WFP’s monitoring activities show that almost 100 percent of refugees receiving
vouchers have acceptable food consumption scores1. WFP’s voucher programme allows
beneficiaries to diversify their diet by allowing for the purchase of a wide range of
products including fresh produce, meat and eggs. Stopping the programme or a
substantial reduction in the voucher value per person per month could negatively
impact the daily food intake of beneficiaries, potentially harming their food security and
lead to increased use of negative coping mechanisms among the beneficiaries.
Funding constraints may also limit WFP’s ability to effectively respond to any massive
influx, given the continued border opening. WFP currently does not have sufficient
stocks in-country to respond to a large number of new arrivals and, due to funding
shortfalls, is unable to procure food to prepare for any potential influx.
Security: Major insecurity on the roads between Erbil—where WFP food stocks are
stored—and Al Obaidi camp in Anbar governorate also remains a significant challenge.
WFP was unable to reach the camp in June and July, but resumed distributions through
its partner, Islamic Relief Worldwide- Iraq, from August 2014 to February 2015. Since
then, insecurity has hindered access to the camp once again, forcing WFP and its
partner to distribute half rations in April while continuing attempts to deliver food.
Despite ongoing military operations across the country, the Kurdistan Region remains
secure, allowing WFP to carry out food assistance in support of all Syrian families
residing in camps. WFP continues to monitor the security situation to ensure the
continuation of its programming as the security conditions evolve.
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The food consumption score is a composite score based on dietary diversity, food frequency, and relative nutritional importance of different food groups.
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