08/09/2010 Signature of Three Memorandums of Agreement under GEF Small Grants Programme
Under the GEF - Small Grants Programme, three memoranda of agreement were signed on Sunday 5th September 2010 at UNDP Country Office in
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31/08/2010 Dayah, UN Special Rapporteur Discuss Environmental Situation in Syria
Minister of State for Environmental Affairs Kawkab al-Sabah Daya discussed on Monday with the United Nations Special Rapportuer on the Right to Food
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31/08/2010 Ban hails role played by civil society in advancing global health
Non-governmental organizations (NGOs) have an invaluable role to play in advancing global health goals, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said today
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UNHCR distributes food aid to vulnerable populations in Hassakah province (2010-01-12)
50,000 Syrians in the drought-hit governorate of Hassakah receive food rations
Part of the UN country team efforts to combat the effects of the drought, the UN Refugee Agency, in association with the Hassakah Governorate and the Syrian Arab Red Crescent, is distributing 100,000 food rations to 50,000 inhabitants of northeastern Syria.
Thousands of the most hard-hit villages in the rural areas of Al-Shadadi, Al-Hassakah, Al-Malkoya, Ras al-Ain and Al-Qamishli will benefit from the distribution of food baskets containing sugar, rice, bulgar, pasta, tomato paste and tea.
“This gesture is part of the UN’s response to help those people most in need during the winter months, as well as our way of expressing solidarity with the Syrian population for so generously welcoming their Iraqi brethren,” said UNHCR Senior Programme Officer Ayman Gharaibeh, who is overseeing the distribution.
The distribution commenced on December 30th and is ongoing throughout the month of January.
“We extend our gratitude to UNHCR for its support for the infrastructure of Hassakah and its help in alleviating the impact of the drought on its population,” said Governor of Hassakah, Muzah Najib Salloum. “We hope for continued support from UNHCR at all levels throughout the coming year.”
Since October 2007, the Northeast of Syria has suffered its worst drought in four decades, prompting the launch of the UN Syria Drought Appeal in 2008.
Some one million people have seen their livelihoods and assets shrink dramatically as a result of the drought, prompting hundreds of thousands to migrate to other regions.
UNHCR is set to donate five 10,000-litre capacity water tankers to the Governorate later this year, to aid in the distribution of clean water to remote villages.
Hassakah Governorate hosts the third largest Iraqi refugee population in Syria, after Aleppo and Damascus.
