Syrian refugees and food insecurity in Iraq, Jordan and Turkey: Secondary Literature and Data Desk Review

The Syria crisis has resulted in a large influx of refugees into neighboring countries: Jordan, Iraq and Turkey. In Jordan, refugees are concentrated in the urban areas, particularly Amman, and in the poverty pockets of governorates bordering Syria. There is also a large concentration at the Za’atri Camp. Most Syrians fleeing the eastern provinces of Syria have arrived in the urban centers in Iraq’s northern Kurdish provinces, while there is also a large Camp in Erbil. Western Iraq. In Turkey, Syrians are provided protection in Government managed camps that are mostly located in border governorates, and they are also living in private accommodation in border regions close to Syria as well as in major cities across the country.

In November 2012, given the rapid increase in Syrians fleeing their country, WFP and UNHCR initiated preparations for Joint Assessment Missions (JAM) in host countries1. In December 2012, the WFP regional bureau based in Cairo sought an external consultant to carry out a secondary data and literature desk review on Syrian refugees in Iraq, Jordan and Turkey. The aim of this review was to support the JAM planning processes and to provide a critical view on the findings as well as recommendations to support information management. The review would draw from existing reports to a) consolidate food security related formation b) identify gaps c) identify needs for further primary data collection. A Food Security Analyst was contracted in January 2013 for the period 2 January to 10 February 2013. As WFP wanted a degree of independence in this review the views of the Author do not necessarily reflect those of WFP.