Provision of dignity kits for women and girls affected by the ongoing emergency in northwest Syria More than 1.1 million people have been displaced inside northwest Syria since 1 December, due to intense conflict. Women and children – who are 81 percent of the newly displaced people– are again among those who suffer most. An estimated 25% of these females are of reproductive age. GBV Sub Cluster partners have reported that women and children are being exposed to serious protection risks such as GBV, particularly in informal settlements where makeshift WASH facilities do not provide for privacy. As identified in the Northwest Syria Readiness and Response Plan, the procured stock of DKs is enough to meet the needs of less than 40% of the currently displaced women and girls of reproductive age. Funds are needed to immediately cover this gap. This project aims to procure and distribute 218,300 DKs, which will cover the current gap. 

UNFPA Cross Border Programme responds to emergencies in areas of Syria accessible through cross-border operations delivering life-saving supplies and services to protect the rights, safety and dignity of women and young people affected by crises. UNFPA Dignity Kits provide the basic hygiene and safety related items to protect the affected women and girls' dignity during emergencies. UNFPA is the lead of the GBV Sub-Cluster and is the main provider of DKs in northwest Syria. UNFPA's implementing partner (Ihsan) as well as GBV SC members on the ground will provide the distribution of DKs.

Through this project, in-kind contributions in the form of DKs (218,300 kits) will be made available for the purposes of, inter alia, mitigating risk factors for GBV. Criteria for receiving these in-kind items will be specific to the function of the kit. Criteria for the distribution of Dignity Kits will include: women and girls of reproductive age who have been displaced over the past three months. Priority will be given to women and girls at-risk of GBV females with a disability single female-headed households and women and girls in an acute emergency. The project will, therefore, contribute to filling the shortage gaps with regard to DKs in northwest Syria, which, in turn, will guarantee a more efficient response to the ongoing emergency and help UNFPA and its partners address the basic protection of affected women and girls.

UNFPA will procure DKs that promote mobility and safety of women and girls by providing age, gender, and culturally appropriate garments and other items (such as headscarves, shawls, whistles, torches, underwear, and small containers for washing personal items) in addition to sanitary supplies and basic hygiene items. The distribution of DKs is also used as an entry point for GBV services including, inter alia, awareness raising, case management referral and Psychological First Aid. Thus DK distribution serves a wider protection purpose as outlined as a main protection gap in the Norhwest Syria Readiness and Response Plan.  

The kits will be distributed by UNFPA partner, Ihsan organization, Ihsan has always been UNFPA's implementing partner for the distribution of the dignity and therefore have the acquired and necessary expertise and the logistic capacity.  Ihsan has also has a strong established presence in northwest Syria with unrestricted access to IDPs. Ihsan maintains two warehouses in strategic areas in northwest Syria accessible through two border crossing points. Together with UNFPA, Ihsan participated in the development of guidance pertaining to the concept and the distribution of dignity kits. This guidance was approved by the GBV SC.