Emergency Assistance for Internally Displaced People Affected by Storms in Idlib Governorate, Syria

CONTEXT

The crisis in Syria has lasted a decade. The conflict is perhaps the worst humanitarian crisis of our time and has killed over 500,000 people. An estimated 6.5 million Syrians have been made homeless inside the country and 5.6 million Syrians are registered refugees in neighbouring countries. 

Many refugees and internally displaced people (IDPs) live in makeshift camps, derelict buildings, or even in the open air. Children are often traumatised after seeing their family members and friends killed or their homes destroyed in front of them.

2020 saw some of the worst violence since the start of the conflict. Earlier in the year, military operations in and around Idlib in North West Syria displaced nearly a million people and there are some 2.7 million internally displaced people living in North West Syria now. Today, about 12 million people across Syria need humanitarian assistance.

Many are struggling to even afford basic food items: according to the UN, prices of food and other essential items increased by more than 200 percent as the value of the Syrian pound drops.

CRISIS

The storm hit Idlib governorate on 18 January 2021. Islamic Relief and another Start Network member spoke to families watching in horror as the extreme weather washed away tents and the few belongings they owned, with early reports indicating that many camps were fully or partially destroyed, as well as several roads that provide access to and movement within the camps.

According to UNOCHA, there are 1.6 million people living in IDP sites in North West Syria and the majority of the devastated shelters were in informal sites where IDPs spontaneously settled. A rapid needs assessment was conducted by Islamic Relief and another Start Network member's local partner between 19 and 20 January, and the response began within the week.

RESPONSE

The storm and flooding affected unregistered camps in Idlib governorate. Islamic Relief and another Start Network member, working with a local organisation, responded with support from the Start Fund.

In the immediate aftermath, aid workers in the camps facilitated door-to-door distributions of 6,050 ready-to-eat meals. Within the camp, the local partner delivered community awareness sessions on COVID-19's impact and distributed prevention information in the form of flyers and brochures.

In parallel, Islamic Relief distributed kits containing 2 mattresses, 4 blankets, 2 insulators/plastic sheets and 150kg of coal  to a total of 1,383 internally displaced families directly affected by the storm.

LEARNING

An initial challenge

The context in North West Syria is particularly sensitive. Early 2020 saw a massive influx of people fleeing from the ongoing conflict to the camps, making the identification of people who could be contacted during a disaster or an emergency within the camps challenging at first.

Collaboration is key

Following the immediate emergency, the agencies collaborated and coordinated with organisations in the camps, specifically small local NGOs, and defined a sector of intervention for each organisation to avoid duplication.

Anticipating future crises

As storms and flooding periods fall roughly around the same time each year, it became clear that pre-positioning the items needed to respond ahead of time would be useful. However, this could pose a challenge due to the security situation in North West Syria and the risk of aid diversion. It could be possible to store items needed for a similar response in warehouses in secure areas or to establish relationships with suppliers who could hold the items.