Around 38% of Syrian refugees in Iraq live in ten camps directly supported by the UN Refugee Agency, UNHCR, UN agencies and non-governmental partners. But the majority of refugees live in precarious informal settlements or with host families. The response plan acknowledges that help to refugees living outside of camps has been insufficient and needs to be improved.
One key to do so is to provide cash grants to vulnerable individuals, particularly those living outside of formal camps, who may not have access to assistance. There are plans to improve long-term shelter options, improve access to education and address the limited access of refugees to the labour market.
“I would like to highlight the extraordinary generosity of the Kurdistan Region of Iraq; 25% of the population today is made up of displaced Iraqis or Syrian refugees”, said UNHCR’s representative to Iraq, Bruno Geddo. However he said the generosity was being “sorely tested” as the Syria crisis entered its sixth year and the region grappled with an economic downturn.
“The KR-I and the international community will face a double challenge in 2016. As well as the need for continuing support to up to 1.5 million Syrian refugees and Iraqi displaced, it is possible that 2016 will bring new waves of mass displacement, as Iraqi forces try to retake control of Mosul - Iraq’s second biggest city”.
The 3RP is a strategic attempt to improve the lives of refugees and the most vulnerable communities at a time when so many are embarking on dangerous journeys to Europe or back to Syria.
The conflict in Syria remains the world's largest protection crisis. The total Syria Regional Refugee and Resilience Plan (3RP) 2016 amounts to $4.55 billion, aiming to support more than four million people forced to flee Syria into neighbouring countries and the communities in which they are being hosted.
(Source: UN)
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