Syria Crisis - Humanitarian Pooled Funds - OCHA 2018

May 2018 – The humanitarian situation in Syria has continued to deteriorate as a result of the civil war in the country. An estimated 13.1 million people are in need of humanitarian assistance with over 6 million internally displaced persons according to the United Nations. Years of active conflict and displacement have resulted in severe protection risks and increased vulnerability of millions of persons in Syria. Humanitarian access remains a significant challenge and repeated attacks on humanitarian and medical workers continue adding to the complexity of the humanitarian response. With GAC’s support the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) is managing a Humanitarian Pooled Fund in Turkey as well as one in Syria. These two Funds channel resources to humanitarian partners to respond to the critical needs of people affected by the devastating humanitarian crisis in Syria. Project activities include: (1) supporting life-saving activities by filling critical funding gaps; (2) promoting needs-based assistance in accordance with humanitarian principles; (3) strengthening coordination of humanitarian assistance; (4) improving the relevance and coherence of humanitarian response by strategically funding priorities as identified under the Humanitarian Response Plan; and (5) expanding the delivery of humanitarian assistance in hard-to-reach areas of the country by partnering with local and international non-governmental organizations.

The expected outcomes for this project include: (1) improved coordination of the humanitarian response to effectively address priority humanitarian needs; (2) improved timeliness in implementing life-saving activities; (3) increased humanitarian access by partnering more effectively with local non-governmental humanitarian organizations; and (4) increased oversight and monitoring of humanitarian assistance projects in hard-to-reach areas. The expected ultimate outcome is lives saved suffering alleviated and human dignity maintained in countries experiencing humanitarian crisis or that are facing acute food insecurity.