Qudra – Resilience for Syrian refugees, IDPs and host communities in response to the Syrian and Iraqi Crises

The civil war in Syria have produced tragic statistics, with more than a quarter of a million dead and over 13.5 million forced to flee their homes from Syria. Among those who were displaced have sought refuge beyond Syria’s borders, the majority in neighbouring countries of Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon and Turkey. Even before the outbreak of the Syrian conflict, some countries such as Jordan and Lebanon were already hosting large numbers of refugees from the Palestinian territories. It is currently estimated that more than 17 million people are in need of humanitarian relief in the region, making this the biggest refugee crisis since the Second World War.

Together, the EU and the German Government are responding this situation by jointly providing support for projects that aim to mitigate the realities of the region. One of them is ‘Qudra - Resilience for Syrian Refugees, IDPs and Host Communities in Response to the Syrian and Iraqi Crises’, funded by the EU Regional Trust Fund in Response to the Syrian Crisis, the 'Madad' Fund and the German Government. Qudra is an Arabic word meaning ‘strength, ‘ability’ or ‘resilience.’

The programme works with refugees, displaced persons and host communities in four countries bordering Syria: Jordan, Lebanon, Turkey and in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq. Roughly 80-90% of Syrian refugees and internally displaced persons (IDPs) in these countries are living out-of-camp, and their circumstances and status vary considerably.