WFP’s Head of Office in Syria visited Qamishli where he met with cooperating partners to discuss the prevalence of severe access constraints in Al-Hassakeh governorate. Most camp markets in Turkey have changed their hours of operation to work from mid-day to midnight during the holy month of Ramadan. Additional vulnerable and impoverished neighbourhoods have been added to the current WFP- assisted locations in Egypt. SYRIA WFP is continuing to WFP/Syria dispatch food for distribution throughout Syria as part of an 0ngoing scale-up to reach 3 million people during the July cycle. By 24 July, 449,980 family food rations for almost 2.25 million people, or 75 percent of the monthly plan, had been dispatched to 14 governorates. Five governorates have thus far received 100 percent of their allocation. However, due to insecurity on the roads, WFP is currently experiencing difficulties dispatching food to partners in some areas of Idleb, Deir-ez-Zor and Rural Damascus. As of 24 July, WFP had only dispatched six percent of the planned allocation for Idleb governorate. Monthly distribution cycles are typically completed over 1.5 months due to access constraints which not only impact the speed at which WFP food assistance is dispatched, but also how quickly food is distributed by partners. Distributions for the June cycle, in which WFP dispatched enough food for 2.5 million people, concluded by partners on 25 July. Thus far, according to tentative distribution figures, 477,232 family food rations for almost 2.4 beneficiaries have been distributed across Syria. Given the exceptionally challenging operating environment in Syria, WFP recognizes the difficulty of obtaining timely distribution figures and continues to reconcile distribution data through regular contact with partners. Homs & Aleppo WFP is monitoring population flows from Homs city, where heavy fighting has reportedly trapped an estimated 2,500 people. In addition to a stock of ready-to-eat rations sufficient for 5,000 people prepositioned at the Syrian Arab Red Crescent (SARC) warehouse in Homs, WFP has dispatched a further 2,000 ready-to-eat rations, sufficient to feed 10,000 people, to a charity partner warehouse in Al-Waa-er, Homs. This consignment will allow for an immediate response if and when families currently trapped in Homs city are able to flee. In light of an increasing need for immediate food assistance, WFP is procuring more ready-to-eat rations in order to rapidly and effectively assist newly displaced families. Such rations can be consumed in the absence of cooking facilities and are often the form of canned foods including fava beans, chickpea paste (humus) and canned meat. In Aleppo city, where the humanitarian situation continues to deteriorate, SARC has requested the deployment of joint humanitarian convoys to supply additional much- needed relief items. On 16 July, a convoy of ten trucks departed for the city, carrying enough monthly family food rations for 22,750 people and ready-to-eat rations for 15,000 people, in addition to 6 mt of high energy biscuits and 80 mt of wheat flour. This followed the delivery of food rations sufficient for 28,000 beneficiaries and 80 mt of wheat flour on 14 July, as part of a joint humanitarian convoy supported by the Logistics Cluster. Preparations are underway for the deployment of a third convoy in the coming days. Operational Constraints An upsurge in violence across flashpoint areas of Damascus and Homs is further complicating the delivery of assistance. A proliferation of additional checkpoints around Damascus city is affecting the pace of food dispatches, while active military operations in some areas are restricting access by WFP staff for monitoring purposes. Challenges remain in reaching Al-Rastan in Homs. While the first of two planned inter- agency convoys reached Al-Rastan on 14 June, the second has been repeatedly rescheduled since. The latest convoy, planned for 17 July, did not receive the necessary approvals. Across Syria, inadequate resourcing continues to constrain WFP operations, leading to the reduction of some commodities in the ration. From July to December, WFP operations inside Syria will cost US$312 million, of which US$196 million remain unfunded. WFP Syria Head of Office Visits Qamishli WFP’s Head of Office in Syria, Matthew Hollingworth, visited Qamishli this week where he met with cooperating partners to discuss the prevalence of severe access constraints in Al-Hassakeh governorate. WFP deliveries to the governorate have been hindered by armed groups for the past three months. Although WFP has been able to access Al-Hassakeh with some assistance, it has not been able to deliver food at the frequency that meets the needs of the population. As a result, all possible delivery options into the governorate are being considered. Operational Reach and Partners WFP’s Syria operations are managed through a broad implementation infrastructure– including eight warehouses, packaging facilities in Damascus and Safita, and sub-offices in Tartous, Qamishli, Homs and Aleppo – which helps to maximize the coverage of WFP food assistance across Syria. While sub-office staff from Aleppo and Homs are temporarily working from alternative locations, WFP will re-open its premises in these cities as soon as the security situation permits. In July, WFP is working with 22 local charity partners in addition to SARC. Efforts continue to identify additional qualified cooperating partners to facilitate the ongoing scale-up to WFP’s response. Starting in October 2013, WFP plans to reach 4 million people inside Syria. Food and Agriculture Sector Coordination The Food and Agriculture Sector working group is continuing to coordinate amongst members in order to maximize complementarities and minimize gaps and overlaps in the delivery of assistance. As part of a broader inter-agency strategy to combine respective resources and response capacities for hotspot areas, the sector is developing contingency plans for Homs, Aleppo and Rural Damascus, where intensified fighting is increasing humanitarian needs. JORDAN According to reports, over 30,000 The development of Azraq camp. IDPs are seeking entry into Jordan from Syria. As a result, WFP is scaling up its contingency planning by procuring additional food both through local and regional channels and by preparing for the opening of Azraq camp, a second large refugee camp in Jordan, in September. While preparations for the arrival of a greater number of refugees are underway, WFP continues its operations in both camp and non- camp settings. In Jordanian WFP/Ryan Beech communities where WFP provides assistance via food vouchers, distributions were extended in order to include as many beneficiaries as possible in the voucher programme during Ramadan. While reconciliation of figures pertaining to the number of beneficiaries reached are ongoing, UNCHR camp population figures continue to drop as ration cards for those who have left Al Za’atri camp are deactivated. WFP also continues to coordinate with the Saudi Relief Committee and Campaigns (SRCC) for the distribution of Saudi food donations in Al Za’atri camp. For the second July cycle, the SRCC has donated 179,544 cans of corned beef to be distributed alongside WFP dry rations, WFP date bars and UNHCR complementary food. Joint Interagency Mission to Jordan As part of an annual joint mission to an area with unique challenges for programming, WFP Assistant Executive Director, Mr. Ramiro Armando De Oliveira Lopes Da Silva, UNICEF Deputy Executive Director, Ms. Yoka Brandt and UNHCR Assistant High Commissioner (Operations), Ms. Janet Lim visited Jordan on 13 and 14 July. The joint visit examined how UNICEF, UNHCR and WFP could strengthen their operations in Jordan for both immediate needs of refugees as well as how best to alleviate the burden on Jordanian host communities in the medium to long term. The mission visited a WFP voucher distribution in Tarbarbour before observing programmes in Al Za’atri camp and the development of operations in the upcoming Azraq refugee camp. The mission agreed on implementation of vulnerability analysis and mapping assessments which will include both local communities and refugees to across the region to inform the sixth revision of the Regional Response Plan. Security Fighting between refugees in the waiting area of the distribution point resulted in the closure of the distribution site on 11 and 14 July. Although distributions continued, tensions remained high until distributions concluded for the cycle. Additional security was required due to the substantial increase in the volume of commodities distributed. Given rising tensions, WFP and partner Save the Children agreed on the need to better engage community leaders to improve crowd control measures during food distribution days. This measure, along with the recruitment of additional security staff and the deployment of police at the FDP, will help improve security around WFP’s distribution site. Monitoring During the reporting period, WFP monitored 18 distributions and conducted 72 household post-distribution monitoring surveys in Al Za’atri camp. WFP field monitors observed that the installation of the new cell tower has ensured continued internet connectivity during the verification process at distributions, hence decreasing beneficiary waiting times. In Jordanian communities, where WFP visited 12 partner shops and conducted 41 post- distribution monitoring surveys, some beneficiaries complained about high prices in several of the partner shops. WFP is continually monitoring shop prices and working with cooperating partners to expand the number of partner shops in order to prevent monopolistic tendencies. Nonetheless, beneficiaries continued to express their satisfaction with the WFP voucher programme, with many citing WFP vouchers as the only source of humanitarian assistance that they receive. LEBANON WFP plans to assist over 560,000 beneficiaries in July. Thus far, over 90 percent of the targeted populations have been reached with either food vouchers or food parcels. Since the start of 2013, WFP has distributed over US$54 million worth of vouchers to Syrian families seeking refuge across Lebanon.