(MENAFN- QNA) Qatar Red Crescent (QRC) has continued its relentless efforts to help the Syrian refugees in Iraqi Kurdistan through its permanent office there, in partnership with the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), with finished and ongoing relief projects worth $2,341,417 (QR 8,520,420) to improve their conditions inside refugee camps until they become able to go back home.
In Arbat refugee camp, the city of Sulaymaniyah, QRC's office 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 after covering Blocks E and G.
The work involved surveying and redesigning the water network in Sections C, E, and G; laying a 3,250-m polyethylene pipeline; and procuring and installing a 64-m3 water tank. The $260,437 project was co-funded by UNICEF (70%) and QRC (30%), while the latter undertook execution and could deliver ahead of schedule.
In Qushtapa refugee camp, which is 20-km away to the west of the region's capital and accommodates 5,300 Syrian refugees who live in 892 tents, QRC's office is currently building 728 sanitary facilities, installing 24 20-m3 water tanks, and laying a 2,180-m polyethylene pipeline for 1,920 Syrian refugees in Block C. It is a safe, environment-friendly sewerage network that, when finished late in February 2015, will cover the administrative facilities, schools, and other refugee service centers of the camp. The cost is $1,288,758, 60% of which is paid by UNICEF and 30% by QRC, which is also responsible for execution.
QRC's office 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% from UNICEF and 30% (plus 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 at Blocks A and B, 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.
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