A groundbreaking project, Ahlan Simsim by the International Rescue Committee (IRC) and Sesame Workshop, has been recognized by the 2023 WISE Awards. Ahlan Simsim has reached over 1.7 million children and their families directly with playful and educational learning opportunities in Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, and Syria, and over 25 million children through the award-winning locally produced Arabic-language version of Sesame Street airing across the Middle East and North Africa.

After some of the bloodiest fighting in more than seven years of civil war in Syria—including a suspected chemical attack in the town of Douma—the enclave of Eastern Ghouta is under the control of the Syrian government.

This report underlines the importance of a coordinated and collaborative approach to emergency response in urban areas. The recommendations, addressed primarily to humanitarian actors, reflect lessons learned from the International Rescue Committee’s (IRC) initial emergency response programming on the island of Lesbos, Greece, between September 2015 and March 2016.

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