Switzerland - IOM is appealing for US$ 20.7 million to continue to provide lifesaving aid in Syria and neighboring countries to address the needs of vulnerable migrants and host communities caught up in the conflict.

To date the United States, Slovakia and UN Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF) have contributed some US$ 3 million towards the repatriation of vulnerable migrants from Syria, the distribution of non-food relief items in Syria, Lebanon and Turkey, and the provision of transport and medical services for refugees fleeing from Syria into Jordan.

Some US$8.5 million of the new funding will go towards the emergency repatriation of vulnerable migrant workers. There are an estimated 120,000 migrant workers in Syria. Most are female domestic workers who lack the financial resources to leave the country without IOM’s help. 
 
Some 6,000 migrants from 25 countries including the Philippines, Indonesia, Sudan, Egypt, Ukraine and Belarus have already asked IOM through their embassies for help to return home. To date, IOM has helped 1,523 migrants to leave Syria.

Another US$11.7 million will provide emergency non-food relief items to internally displaced Syrians and refugees in neighboring countries. As the conflict continues, and with the onset of winter, growing numbers of displaced people inside and outside Syria need essential relief supplies. 

According to UNHCR, 2.5 million people were in need of humanitarian aid in August, compared to only 250,000 in April. Of these, 1.5 million are internally displaced. Children, the old and the sick are the most vulnerable and many will need blankets, warm clothes and shoes as temperatures in the region drop.

IOM is also asking for US$ 1.98 million for emergency transport to continue moving refugees from the Syrian border to Za’atari refugee camp in Jordan. 

Another US$1.55 million will go towards the provision of primary health care, psychosocial support and referral services both inside Syria and in the neighboring countries. At present IOM is proving health treatment on-site at King Abdullah Park in Jordan, at the Za’atari refugee camp and through a mobile team.

For more information, please contact

Monica Goracci
IOM  Geneva
Tel: + 41 22 717 9501
Email: mgoracci@iom.int