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UNHCR Regional Cash Assistance Update Syria & Iraq Situations, January to June 2017

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UNHCR continues its strategic shift from the distribution of in-kind relief items to the provision of humanitarian cash assistance to refugees, primarily through ATM cards and vouchers.

These programmes target the most vulnerable and are linked to UNHCR’s innovative biometric iris scan registration system, to increase efficiency and reduce overheads and the risk of fraud.

Cash assistance provides greater dignity and choice for refugees, while providing benefits to the local economies where refugees are spending the cash they receive under these programmes.

Country updates

LEBANON

■ UNHCR, together with partners, provided 260,802 most vulnerable Syrian refugees (44,000 families*) with multipurpose cash assistance, of USD 175 per family per month, to assist them in meeting their needs in a dignified manner. In addition, 32,870 individuals were assisted with urgent protection-based cash assistance.

■ Partners in Lebanon are working on improving the Vulnerability Assessment of Syrian Refugees (VASyR) for 2017. UNHCR led the data collection exercise that was completed in May and is currently coordinating the data analysis. UNHCR and WFP are working with the American University of Beirut on recalibrating the formula used as a basis for targeting multi-purpose cash and food assistance.

JORDAN

■ In the first half of 2017, UNHCR provided over 136,000 of the most vulnerable Syrian refugees (around 30,000 families) and more than 9,000 most vulnerable Iraqi refugees and refugees of other nationalities with cash assistance on a monthly basis. Since March, a more refined eligibility criteria is being used to identify and prioritize vulnerable families.

■ In addition, UNHCR has started delivering cash for health and urgent cash assistance in a faster and more expedited manner through the inter-agency Common Cash Facility (CCF) using virtual accounts with Cairo Amman Bank. For the delivery of assistance at the berm (Jordan-Syria border), UNHCR is partnering with WFP and UNICEF using Iris scan technology.

IRAQ

■ So far in 2017, UNHCR has provided unconditional cash assistance to 20,298 Syrian refugees (3,878 families) and 52,311 internally displaced people (6,070 families) across Iraq. The assistance, which is provided for up to three months, helps beneficiaries to meet their urgent humanitarian needs.

■ UNHCR is partnering with Zain Cash to deliver cash assistance through mobile money transfers since the beginning of the year. It is also harmonizing its IDP assistance tracking system, ASSIST, with the refugee assistance tracking system Refugee Assistance Information System (RAIS).

EGYPT

■ UNHCR provided unconditional cash assistance to 44,387 Syrian refugees (10,568 Syrian families) during the first half of 2017. UNHCR leveraged the Egypt Vulnerability Assessment of Refugees (EVAR) to develop a more refined vulnerability analysis and beneficiary selection. In addition, 13,563 Iraqi refugees (3,390 families) and refugees of other nationalities were provided with cash assistance during January to June.

■ UNHCR has also established a Basic Needs and Cash Working Group under the Regional Refugee and Resilience Plan (3RP) to improve coordination and maintain the multi-agency dimension of an effective cash assistance system. A joint UNHCR-IrisGuard scoping mission undertaken in June presented system-wide opportunities for better identification of beneficiaries and delivering cash assistance securely, by integrating

■ EyeCloud biometric recognition technology with the application software used by the post offices which are the point of delivery of the cash assistance.

SYRIA

■ In the first half of 2017, monthly cash assistance through ATM cards and vouchers was provided to 45,133 Iraqi refugees and refugees of other nationalities. Bimonthly cash for food assistance reached 25,800 individuals (8,021 families) and was provided to all refugees and asylum-seekers registered with UNHCR.

■ Due to funding constraints, UNHCR is moving from providing blanket assistance to targeted assistance, based on agreed vulnerability criteria for beneficiaries. UNHCR is defining a new set of criteria to determine vulnerability more comprehensively.

TURKEY

■ Around 3,750 Iraqi refugees have been reached with cash assistance by UNHCR in Turkey so far this year.

■ UNHCR has designed cash-based initiatives for vulnerable individuals who are in need of assistance but do not qualify under existing schemes such as the Emergency Social Safety Net (ESSN). ‘Special Needs categories’ were identified through a consultative process and include lesbian, gay, bi-sexual, transgender and inter-sex persons (LGBTI), separated children, adolescents released from orphanages, individuals engaged in survival sex, individuals with disabilities, serious medical cases and children involved in hazardous and other forms of child labour.