The Syria Recovery Trust Fund (SRTF) is pleased to announce that it has received additional contributions of Euro 18 million from Germany and 7.5 million Danish Kroner (approximately EUR 1 million) from Denmark in support of the Stabilization Programme’s Filling the Void (FtV) efforts in areas liberated from Daesh. This contribution brings FtV’s total funds to around EUR 86 million to support over 170 communities in Ar-Raqqa, Deir Ez-Zor and Al Hasakeh Governorates in northeastern Syria.
These generous contributions come at the end of a year filled with great accomplishments. This year, the SRTF approved 13 new interventions with a total budget of EUR 33.1 million under FtV; doubling the number of interventions and budget of the stabilization programme. Those interventions cover a range of sectors, which include agriculture, food security, health, solid waste & rubble removal, electricity, livelihood, home rehabilitation, vocational training, and access to finance.
One of these new interventions also served as a milestone for the SRTF - that milestone being the establishment of a Revolving Credit Fund (RCF) to support and promote local entrepreneurship in Ar-Raqqa, Deir Ez-Zor, and Al-Hasakah. The RCF will support 480 local entrepreneurs in advance of the growth of their small and micro-enterprises.
In addition to this milestone, the SRTF continues to support primary healthcare and has been quick to respond to the COVID-19 crisis in Northeastern Syria. The Fund approved and implemented two interventions focused on mitigating the spread of COVID-19 in Ar-Raqqa and Deir Ez-Zor. As a result, hundreds of COVID-19 in-hospital patients were treated this year and around 200,000 medical consultations were provided to patients under these SRTF health interventions. The SRTF continues to make significant progress in its other interventions as well. The Fund continues to support the empowerment of women through SRTF-funded and fully operational women-led Cooperative Administrative Units (CAUs).
In the third quarter of 2020, the SRTF announced that its efforts to restore the agriculture sector in Ar-Raqqa successfully resulted in 20,000 tons of wheat this year, which represents a 33% increase from last year’s yield. A total of 4,370 framers and their families directly benefited from SRTF agriculture interventions.
Additionally, over 137,500 households in around 100 communities in Raqqa and Deir Ez-Zor benefited from solid waste & rubble removal, electricity, WASH, livelihood and home rehabilitation interventions in 2020.