DOHA: Qatar Red Crescent (QRC) continues helping Syrian refugees in Iraqi Kurdistan with ongoing relief projects worth QR8.5m.
The projects are being implemented through QRC’s permanent office there partnership with the United Nations Children’s Fund (Unicef).
In Arbat refugee camp, the city of Sulaymaniyah, QRC laid a water pipeline in Block C to reduce the risk of waterborne diseases and ensure drinking water for 1,280 refugees for the time being, and for additional 2,560 refugees.
The work involved surveying and redesigning the water network; laying a 3,250m polyethylene pipeline; and procuring and installing a 64m3 water tank. The $260,437 project was co-funded by Unicef (70 percent) and QRC (30 percent).
In Qushtapa refugee camp, which accommodates 5,300 Syrian refugees who live in 892 tents, QRC is building 728 sanitary facilities, installing 24 20m3 water tanks, and laying a 2,180m polyethylene pipeline for 1,920 Syrian refugees. When finished next month, the sewerage network will cover the administrative facilities, schools, and other refugee service centers of the camp. The cost is $1,288,758, 60 percent of which is paid by Unicef and 30 percent by QRC, which is also responsible for execution.
QRC had already finished two water and sanitation projects for Syrian refugees at Dar Shukran and Arbat refugee camps, with a total budget of $792,222 — 70 percent from Unicef and 30 percent including execution from QRC.
In Dar Shukran camp, Erbil Governorate, QRC procured and installed 500 solar-powered water heaters to meet the everyday hot water needs of the camp’s 10,000 inhabitants, providing 50 liters per family. The project also covered the camp’s school, clinic, and administrative units.
In Arbat, a pipeline network was built to provide clean drinking water for 2,560 refugees, as well as the school, clinic, and administrative units.
The executive works were coordinated with Unicef, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), the Governor, the Sulaymaniyah mayor, the Water Department, the local refugee authority in the governorate. Priority was given to water and sanitation services to meet one of the most vital needs for the refugees, while considering the social culture, available resources, and accumulated experience from previous projects.
These projects are part of the agreement to support Syrian refugees in the Kurdish region, in continuation of QRC’s ongoing humanitarian action in Syria’s neighboring countries Turkey, Jordan, and Lebanon.
According to UNHCR reports published early in March, the number of Syrian refugees in Iraqi Kurdistan nearly reached 227,000 since the beginning of the Syrian crisis.
The Peninsula
