UNICEF works to meet the survival, protection and development needs of displaced children in over 40 countries.

UNICEF strives to ease problems that communities receiving refugees may face, such as overcrowded schools, higher crime rates, pressure on local services and food shortages.  To do this, UNICEF works in partnership with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and numerous international and local Non-Governmental Agencies (NGOs).

UNICEF in camps

UNICEF works closely with other organisations to help refugees and internally displaced people in the following areas:

Health and Nutrition

    * Providing food and Vitamin A supplements
    * Providing oral rehydration salts (to treat people with diarrhoea)
    * Making sure children are vaccinated against killer diseases, 
       such as measles
    * Serving people with health kits
    * Providing de-worming tablets
    * Providing mosquito nets to prevent the spread of malaria
    * Raising awareness of HIV/AIDS in refugee camps.

Water and Environmental Sanitation

    * Helping to make access to clean water
    * Providing access to emergency latrines
    * UNICEF provides sanitation for girls
    * Supplying anti-bacterial soap.

Education

    * UNICEF sets up schools in camps to help children to fill their days and to
       have a sense of normalcy.
    * Schools are set up within an environment called a Child Friendly Space.

Protection

    * Providing tents for shelter
    * Registering separated children, tracing their families and re-uniting them
    * Establishing centres to provide psycho-social support for children 
        who have suffered trauma
    * Training workers for children centres so they can offer the best support
    * UNICEF also works to prevent the trafficking of refugee children

What is a Child-Friendly Space?

UNICEF supports making Child Friendly Spaces in refugee/IDP camps.  This is where children can go to school, sometimes for the first time in their lives (especially for girls if they used to be responsible for things like fetching water and looking after their homes).

A Child Friendly Space offers children a safe, clean area to learn and play until the situation is safe enough for them to return to their home villages or to settle elsewhere.  The Space also offers an area for counselling, so children who have suffered trauma can get help and are able to talk about their feelings.

Child Friendly Spaces Bring Hope to Iraqi Refugee Children in Syria
-Damascus, Syria, Annika Folkeson
There are 1.5 million Iraqi refugees in Syria and it is a struggle providing basic necessities for people who have left everything behind in their war torn country. In this setting the special needs of children can be overlooked.

In 2007, UNICEF and a partner organisation opened five child-friendly spaces to fill the needs of Iraqi refugee children. Over 11,500 children were registered with the centres in 2008 and have been provided a safe place to play and interact with their peers. Providing a normal environment is crucial in helping them overcome the stress related to their situation.

The games organised at the spaces provide children with more than entertainment and a moment to forget about their experiences; they also allow the children to express their thoughts and process difficult memories.

Selma is one young girl who has been helped at a children's centre located in Jaramana. Upon her arrival at the children's centre, Selma immediately disappeared into one of the empty rooms. She did not answer questions or look anyone in the eyes. But soon, the volunteers working at the centre managed to get Selma to paint.

She drew a picture of soldiers pointing their guns at her parents, with their house in flames in the background. By observing the behaviour and listening to the stories of refugee children, trained volunteers can detect whether a child needs additional support. Through drawing, children like Selma who are less communicative find a way to make themselves heard.

Being able to play with other children also helps them to return to normalcy. Living conditions for Iraqi's in Syria are often crowded and there is little space to play. The child friendly spaces therefore allow children like Selma to interact with other children and play; trying to create as normal an environment as possible.

Source: UNICEF International Website, Country Profile: Syria

Why is education so important for refugee children?

UNICEF believes it is very important for children to go to school in refugee camps and provides school-in-a-box kits, with the materials that teachers and pupils need for their lessons.  Education is an excellent way for refugee and IDP children to begin recovering from the horrible things they have seen.  It gives them a chance to focus on something else from basic education to music and dance, to make friends, and to build up a routine in a secure, safe and caring environment.  It is also a very good way of communicating essential messages to children such as how to keep safe and how to prevent the spread of disease.