Syria Crisis - Lifesaving Health-Care and Protection - Humanitarian Response 2014

February 2014 - The humanitarian situation in Syria continues to deteriorate as a result of the civil war in the country. The United Nations estimates that more than 130 000 people have been killed with hundreds of thousands more wounded due to the violence. Within Syria some 9.3 million people are in need of humanitarian assistance 6.5 million of whom are internally displaced. In addition over 2.4 million Syrian refugees are registered and living in host countries in the region. Women and children are particularly vulnerable to the impact of the conflict and host countries are increasingly overstretched by the influx of affected people needing assistance. With DFATD's support this project is increasing protection for up to 17 570 people in Damascus and rural Damascus. Project activities include: (1) providing timely and confidential medical responses case management and referral services to survivors of gender-based violence; (2) providing mental health care counselling and psychosocial services to conflict-affected people particularly adolescent girls boys and women; (3) providing safe spaces recreation and life skills to conflict-affected at-risk youth and their families; and (4) providing life-saving basic services to war-wounded or conflict-affected people with disabilities.

The expected immediate outcomes for this project include: (1) increased access to life-saving services for survivors of sexual and gender-based violence war-wounded and conflict-affected people with disabilities; (2) increased availability of responsive services for improved mental health of conflict-affected persons specifically survivors of gender-based violence and children with disabilities; and (3) enhanced availability of mechanisms to mitigate key protection risks faced by conflict-affected children and youth. The expected intermediate outcome is reduced vulnerability of crisis-affected people especially women and children.