Providing Shelter
UNHCR provides refugees with emergency shelter — tents, tarpaulins and demountable housing — in the immediate aftermath of displacement. More broadly, we are responsible for site planning and camp management to ensure refugee settlements are economically, socially and environmentally sustainable. For those living outside camps, UNHCR funds the rehabilitation of communal shelters, the construction of new homes and rental assistance for those in urban situations. UNHCR also provides materials that displaced people need to build a home themselves under self-help schemes.
More than 640,000 Syrians have fled across the border into Jordan. In the majority of cases, families have escaped with little more than the clothes they are wearing. UNHCR manages two refugee camps in Jordan, providing essential humanitarian relief and services for 120,000 people. Last winter, every child in Za’atri camp received a package of warm winter clothes. We also helped install low-cost electricity in the nearby Asraq camp, enabling 28,000 families to safely light and heat their shelters.
Providing Food
Malnutrition is a common consequence of conflict and displacement. UNHCR works with the World Food Programme (WFP) to ensure that all refugees have access to adequate nutrient-rich food. UNHCR assists with the distribution of food rations in camps and provide urban refugees with vouchers and cash assistance for the purchase of food and groceries. In acute situations, UNHCR supports emergency nutrition and therapeutic feeding programs, supplying fortified milks and ready-to-use therapeutic foods.
Providing Medication
UNHCR facilitates access to basic healthcare for refugees through camp clinics and local healthcare providers. Priority health services include emergency medical care for those who have suffered violence, reproductive services and treatment for infants and the elderly. UNHCR also coordinates immunisation programs to prevent the spread of diseases in crowded refugee settings.
Providing Cash Assistance
Most refugees live in places where they have access to markets and services in the same way that local communities do. Providing refugees with cash, by way of a secure biometric system, enables them to make decisions about their personal needs. This also helps prevent refugees being forced into desperate measures such as undertaking dangerous journeys, taking children out of school or survival sex. Cash assistance also helps refugees to support the local economy, aiding social integration.
In Jordan, over 600,000 men, women and children are struggling to survive in exile. Many have arrived with limited means to cover even basic needs like food, medicine and education. Those who could at first rely on savings or support from host families are now increasingly in need of help. UNHCR runs voucher and cash assistance programs that help meet the needs of the vulnerable and reduce the economic strain on host communities
Providing Education
Education is a crucial part of refugee relief, even in emergencies. School provides a safe and stable environment for children, restoring their sense of normality and routine, and allowing them to receive important health and safety messages. Education also helps people rebuild their communities and pursue productive, meaningful lives. Where refugees live in the community, UNHCR negotiates with governments to allow them access to local schools. In refugee camps, UNHCR promotes education for children and adults, operating schools and vocational training programs.
UNHCR is working with host governments to integrate refugee children into the national education system to make sure they don’t miss out on essential schooling. There are currently around 599,000 Syrian children attending school (both primary and secondary) in neighbouring countries
Shelter
Shelter
Food
Medicine
Cash Assistance
Education
