Syria Crisis - Support to the Turkish Red Crescent Society - IFRC 2014

March 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 the support of DFATD and other donors the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) is supporting the Turkish Red Crescent Society to deliver immediate assistance to up to 250 000 Syrian refugees in Turkey. The IFRC is responding to immediate humanitarian needs by providing relief goods including blankets clothes heaters kitchen sets small kitchen appliances and hygiene kits to Syrian refugees. The IFRC is also working to strengthen the capacity of the Turkish Red Crescent Society to undertake disaster management and contingency planning.

The expected immediate outcomes for this project include: (1) improved living conditions through increased access to essential relief items; and (2) increased capacity of the Turkish Red Crescent to respond to humanitarian crises. The expected intermediate outcome is reduced vulnerability of crisis-affected people especially women and children.