About QUDRA
’Qudra - Resilience for Syrian refugees, IDPs and host communities in response to the Syrian and Iraqi crises’ is a regional action financed by the EU Regional Trust Fund in Response to the Syrian Crisis, the ‚Madad‘ Fund and the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), seeking to strengthen the resilience of Syrian refugees, IDPs and host communities in response to the Syrian and Iraqi crises.
Qudra - an Arabic word meaning ‘strength’, ‘ability’ or ‘resilience’ – was launched in June 2016 and since then, the programme is being jointly implemented by the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH, Expertise France (EF) and Spanish Agency for International Development (AECID) in programme partner countries of Jordan, Lebanon, Turkey and North Iraq. All three agencies, by pooling their experience and resources, endeavour to achieve a coherent concept and implementation in order to contribute to a shared European solution to the ongoing refugee crisis in the region.
The Context
The Syrian conflict has triggered the largest humanitarian crisis in modern history. Refugees from Syria are now the biggest refugee population from one single conflict in a generation, with over 5 million Syrian refugees in neighbouring countries and elsewhere.
Countries bordering Syria host the majority of these refugees; Lebanon and Jordan host the largest per capita refugee population worldwide, whilst Turkey has to accommodate the world’s largest number of refugees in a single country.
With the growing influx of refugees, the capacities of these countries in effectively responding to the refugee crisis are stretched to the limits. Most refugees in the neighbouring countries of Syria face similar challenges with regard to their status in relation to protection and access to public services, education and the labour market.
It is in this context that Qudra is working closely with programme partner countries of Jordan, Lebanon, North Iraq and Turkey in an overall aim to strengthen the resilience of host communities, refugees and displaced persons.
Key Areas of Work
QUDRA aims to strengthen the resilience of host communities, refugees, and displaced persons in five key areas:
Improving school infrastructure and access to extracurricular activities;
Expanding and improving basic vocational skills;
Strengthening social cohesion through community-based services;
Strengthening the capacities of local administrations;
Promoting dialogue and exchange of experience on policies conducive to enhanced resilience of refugees, IDPs and host communities
The EU Madad Fund
Part of the robust EU aid response to the Syrian refugee crisis, the EUTF supports up to 1.5 million Syrian refugees and their host communities in Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, Turkey and the Western Balkans.
Established in 2014, the EUTF has mobilised over €1 billion to date, including contributions from 22 EU Member States and Turkey. To date, 80% is allocated and over half of the funds have been contracted to implementing partners on the ground through 25 projects.
The EUTF helps secure healthcare, education and economic opportunities for Syrian refuges and host communities, particularly children and youth, across the region. The EUTF also effectively addresses resilience, social cohesion, water and sanitation needs of those affected by the Syrian conflict, both for the benefit of Syrian refugees and overstretched host communities.
Implementation of the Action
Qudra builds on the know-how and implementation experience gained by European countries through their international cooperation, using best practices from bilateral projects of EU member states as a basis for scaling up. In this spirit, Qudra is implemented by a group of European Union Member State Agencies (EUMSAs) comprising GIZ, Expertise France (EF), and AECID.
Implementing Partners
The Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH is a federal enterprise with worldwide operations. GIZ supports the German Government in the fields of international cooperation for sustainable development and international education. Through its work GIZ assists people and societies in shaping their own future and improving living conditions.
Expertise France is the French public agency for international technical assistance. It aims at contributing to sustainable development based on solidarity and inclusiveness, mainly through enhancing the quality of public policies within the partner countries. Expertise France designs and implements cooperation projects addressing skills transfers between professionals. The agency also develops integrated offers, assembling public and private expertise in order to respond to the partner countries‘ needs.
Spanish Agency for International Development (AECID) is a Public Law Entity attached to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation. AECID is responsible for the development and management of the Spanish policies for development cooperation, aimed at reducing poverty and achieving sustainable human development in partners countries. To these end, AECID provides technical, economic and financial cooperation, as well as, humanitarian aid.
Sub-Contractors
CFI is the cooperation agency of the French Ministry of Europe and Foreign Affairs tasked with coordinating and implementing France’s aid policy for the development of media in the South. It provides assistance to stakeholders, both public and private, in the media industry with the aim of strengthening the processes of modernisation and democratization, a cause to which France is committed.
The Fundación Internacional y para Iberoamérica de Administración y Políticas Públicas (FIIAPP) is a public operator, part of the Spanish international cooperation system. It works at the service of public administrations, managing the participation of their different bodies in international technical cooperation projects and programmes. FIIAPP aims at improving the institutional framework and functioning of public systems of the countries where it works, through projects that promote the exchange of experiences between administrations. It supports the design, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of public policies, as well as the administrative organization and development of legislation.
Short Facts
| Programme name | Qudra - Resilience for Syrian Refugees, IDPs and Host Communities in Response to the Syrian and Iraqi Crises |
| Commissioned by | German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) |
| Co-funded by | EU (Madad Trust Fund) |
| Countries | Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, Turkey |
| Implementing organisations | GIZ in cooperation with AECID and EF |
| Duration | June 2016 to June 2019 |
| Budget | Total: EUR 78 million (EUR 7.8 million from the BMZ; EUR 70.6 million from the EU) |