HIGHLIGHTS
26,160 People benefitted from alternatives to camps in UNHCR accommodation since the beginning of the programme
20,962 People benefitted from cash assistance through UNHCR and UNHCRfunded partners in February
19,314 UNHCR accommodation places currently active as alternatives to camps
1,581 Asylum-seekers transferred from the islands to improved accommodation on the mainland in state-run sites or UNHCR accommodation this month
OPERATIONAL CONTEXT
The cold weather persisted across Greece this month and humanitarian actors continued to work on improving the living conditions of refugees and migrants in the islands and the mainland. At the same time, they started systematizing their approach towards longer term solutions. In this line, UNHCR supported the Greek Government in providing accommodation for vulnerable asylum-seekers, and took the first steps with partners to systematize Cash Assistance in Greece.
According to the Greek Government some 62,313 refugees and migrants were in Greece in February, including in UNHCR-funded accommodation.
Out of those, 47,837 were in the mainland and 14,476 in the Aegean islands. UNHCR has been collecting population figures for planning purposes and has a lower estimate of the number of refugees and migrants in the country, which have been shared with the authorities.In February, there were an estimated 1,089 sea arrivals on the Aegean Islands, a decrease from January’s 1,393 sea arrivals.
UNHCR supported the Greek Government in its efforts to provide better shelter, which included upgrading camps to make them ready for winter and transferring vulnerable people to accommodation in apartments and hotels. In February alone, UNHCR helped some 1,611 people, amongst them the most vulnerable, move to improved accommodation.
By the end of February, UNHCR had assisted authorities transfer over 6,000 people from the Greek Islands to improved shelter on the mainland, and to UNHCR’s Relocation and Accommodation Scheme since the beginning of the programme in June 2016.
By the end of February a total of 26,160 people had benefited from UNHCR’s Accommodation and Services Scheme since the beginning of the programme. A total of 19,314 places were available in apartments (11,250) and buildings (1,814), hotels (5,142), host family programme (372) and facilities for unaccompanied children (732) in line with UNHCR’s out-of-camp policy to accommodate people out of sites, and in apartments were they can enjoy better conditions and better access to services. The number of places in hotels is progressively reducing in favor of more cost-effective and sustainable accommodation in apartments.
The Greek authorities, UNHCR and partners continued to evacuate unsuitable sites and move people to improved shelter. A number of sites were fully evacuated as they were deemed unsuitable, such as Larisa Kypselohori, Oreokastro Fessas, Karamanlis,
Illiadi Kalochori, Frakaport, Cherso, Tsepelovo. Other sites like Agios Andreas, Skafidia, Pelopio, Thiva, Kavala, Stylida, Drama,
Serres, Ktima Irakli, Vagiochori, Katsikas, Agia Eleni are either planned for renovation but not yet completed or have closed temporarily to reopen after renovation. The plans for the opening of new sites might change in view of the lower population.UNHCR completed infrastructural work in 15 sites in the mainland assigned by the Government for winter preparedness, and continued to improve accommodation in seven islands. UNHCR had installed 924 prefabricated containers by mid-February around Greece. In the North, UNHCR assisted transfer people to better accommodation, which ameliorated the conditions in formerly overcrowded sites.
UNHCR’s infrastructural interventions ranged from upgrading the electrical supply and heating, to providing communal spaces and equipping them with appliances such as washing machines and fridges in sites like Elefsina, Elaionas and Thermopiles. UNHCR also worked to connect sites to the electrical grid, as for example in Nea Kavala where 174 prefabricated containers accessed electricity.
In Lesvos, in response to the harsh winter conditions, UNHCR moved all families out of individual tents into alternative shelter on the island and the mainland. In the first week of February alone, UNHCR had supported the move of nearly 800 people. As an emergency measure, the Greek Government also provided a navy vessel where over 170 people found temporary refuge from the cold. Following a request by the authorities, UNHCR installed 13 two-storey and four single-storey houses this month.
Still in Lesvos, UNHCR worked with the Hellenic Army to complete infrastructural works at RIC Moria. Partners Samaritan’s Purse and the Danish Red Cross distributed bunk beds, mattresses, blankets, sleeping bags, and other non-food items. At the Government’s request, UNHCR assisted the accommodation of 214 people at the nearby Olive Grove site, temporarily until construction was completed at RIC Moria. This involved preparatory groundwork and the provision of one large Rubb Hall and 14 family tents through UNHCR’s partner Samaritan’s Purse. UNHCR and partners also undertook infrastructural work in Kara Tepe