MIDEAST-CRISIS/UN-REFUGEES One million Iraqi and Syrian refugees may face winter without UN aid

Record ID: 274683

  • Title: MIDEAST-CRISIS/UN-REFUGEES One million Iraqi and Syrian refugees may face winter without UN aid
  • Date: 11th November 2014
  • Summary: GENEVA, SWITZERLAND (NOVEMBER 11, 2014) (REUTERS) EXTERIOR OF UNITED NATIONS HEADQUARTERS NEWS BRIEFING VARIOUS OF JOURNALISTS (SOUNDBITE) (English) UNITED NATIONS HIGH COMMISSIONER FOR REFUGEES (UNHCR) SPOKESWOMAN, MELISSA FLEMING, SAYING: "We are very concerned by an over $58 million funding shortfall that could leave as many as one million people without proper help. Th
  • Embargoed: 26th November 2014 12:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Switzerland
  • Country: Switzerland
  • Topics: General
  • Reuters ID: LVA9JU7VMZ9RS4KXUZODXT9GFCDT
  • Story Text: Almost one million Iraqi and Syrian refugees could be left without of any winter aid the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR) said on Tuesday (November 11) due to a funding shortfall partly caused by a sharp increase of internally displaced people.
    Winter has already started in the northern and mountainous areas of Iraq and Syria, with temperatures oscillating between +5 and -16 degrees Celsius. The lack of aid could leave an estimated number of 900,000 refugees without help.
    "We are very concerned by an over $58 million funding shortfall that could leave as many as one million people without proper help. This is partly due to this sharp increase of internal displacement that we have witnessed in Iraq," said the UNHCR spokeswoman Melissa Fleming, who also pointed that $154 million had already been invested in winter aid and programs.
    The U.N. agency said it would not be able to provide blankets, winter clothes, plastic sheeting and inner lining to protect tents from the cold weather.
    Were the winter scenario painted out by the UNHCR unfold, the agency plans to prioritise its aid according to altitude criteria, and vulnerability, addressing the most vulnerable first, such as elderly people and babies.
    "The most vulnerable population that I'm very concerned for, are the newly-born babies, who could face hypothermia and freezing as we have seen in Syria last year, the elderly and the frail, the sick, and also understand that during winter, there is a high increase of sickness, especially upper respiratory problems among children, elderly, and even the young and the strong population," said UNHCR Director for the Middle East and North Africa Amin Awad.
    The agency's work is further more complicated by the fact that displaced people are constantly on the move.
    Awad said the internally displaced people of Syria and Iraqi are some of the most mobile populations he has ever encountered in his 30-year career.
    "They are highly mobile, they have vehicles, they move from one camp to another, from one private accommodation to another, from one province, from one village, from one town to another and it's very difficult for them to really leave. They are looking for school, they are looking for, are they close to services, be it hospitals, are they getting a comfortable accommodation, are their families adjusting, they are trying to unite with their families as they are looking for relatives," he added.
    According to the UNHCR hundreds of refugees arrive in Iraq from Syria on a daily basis, making it ever the more challenging to meet the people's needs.
    "Beyond the 1.9 million IDPs and the 225,000 refugees, about 300 to 500 more refugees are arriving daily in Northern Iraq from the city and the region of Kobani, in Syria, and we're deeply concerned about our ability to meet urgent needs there," Fleming said.
    About 13.6 million people, equivalent to London's population, has been displaced by conflicts in both Syria and Iraq, with many leaving without any possessions, and not having access to food or a proper shelter.
    Among them, 1.9 million have been internally displaced in Iraq, while 190,000 have sought refuge in the neighbouring countries. In Syria, 3.3 million people have fled to Jordan, Lebanon, Turkey and Iraq, while 7.2 million people are internally displaced.

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