Syrian Refugees: U.S. Agencies Conduct Financial Oversight Activities for Humanitarian Assistance but Should Strengthen Monitoring
Fast Facts
The State Department and the U.S. Agency for International Development have taken leading roles in providing assistance for the more than 5 million people who have fled the conflict in Syria. Most are now in Turkey, Lebanon, and Jordan.
So far, U.S. assistance tops $3 billion. Much of that has gone for food, education, and health care. Some aid goes directly to refugees as a cash balance on a prepaid debit card.
Security concerns can make it more difficult for U.S. officials to check for fraud in these programs. We recommended that the agencies find ways to conduct more in-person reviews, through local hires or in some other manner.
Debit Card That Provides Assistance to Syrian Refugees in Jordan
Photo of a hand holding an assistance debit card available to certain refugees.
Highlights
What GAO Found
The Department of State (State) and the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) have obligated more than $3.5 billion since fiscal year 2012 to support humanitarian assistance for Syrian refugees in the Middle East. From fiscal years 2012 through 2017, State obligated about $2.8 billion for programs providing education, health, and protection, among other things, and USAID obligated $887 million for food assistance. Most of the funding was provided to public international organizations, such as the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees and the World Food Programme, for programs in Lebanon and Jordan. Food assistance has been provided in cash-based form, and there are cash-based programs in other sectors as well. For example, in Lebanon and Jordan, U.S. implementing partners provide cash-based assistance through mechanisms that include cards or iris scans (see fig.).
Card for Delivering Cash-Based Assistance to Syrian Refugees in Jordan (left) and Iris Scan Checkout Screen at a Grocery Store in a Refugee Camp in Jordan (right)
State and USAID conduct a variety of financial oversight activities but face security-related monitoring challenges. For all 33 funding instruments in GAO's sample (representing 83 percent of State funding and 100 percent of USAID funding for fiscal years 2015 and 2016), State and USAID used risk assessments to inform their monitoring activities. Both agencies developed risk-based monitoring plans citing the number and frequency of in-person monitoring visits required to ensure financial oversight. However, due to security restrictions, State and USAID were unable to conduct all scheduled in-person monitoring visits in fiscal years 2015 through 2017. For example, during this period, USAID staff were unable to conduct any such visits in Iraq and were unable to conduct such visits in Lebanon for 7 months. State has hired local staff—who are able to access areas with security related restrictions for U.S. officials—to conduct some in-person monitoring visits and has considered other options but has not implemented them. USAID reports it has considered, but not implemented, alternative mechanisms for conducting in-person monitoring visits in areas where security conditions limit such visits by USAID officials. Without in-person monitoring, financial irregularities may go unnoticed or take longer to detect.
Why GAO Did This Study
The ongoing conflict in Syria has created a complex humanitarian crisis, displacing more than 5 million Syrians to neighboring countries. The United States has led the global funding effort to provide humanitarian assistance to people affected by the conflict.
GAO was asked to review humanitarian assistance provided by State, USAID, and their implementing partners to Syrian refugees in the Middle East. This report examines (1) the amount of funding U.S. agencies have obligated and types of assistance provided and (2) the extent to which State and USAID provide financial oversight of such assistance. GAO analyzed State and USAID data; examined a nongeneralizable sample of 33 funding instruments for fiscal years 2015 and 2016 involving 15 implementing partners; analyzed State and USAID oversight activities; interviewed relevant officials, and conducted fieldwork in Lebanon and Jordan, where most of State and USAID's humanitarian assistance funding has been obligated.
Recommendations
To improve financial oversight of programs assisting Syrian refugees, GAO recommends that State and USAID identify and implement a mechanism to conduct in-person monitoring visits in countries where security conditions limit such visits by U.S. officials. State and USAID concurred with GAO's recommendations.
Recommendations for Executive Action
| Agency Affected | Recommendation | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Department of State | State's Bureau of Population, Refugees and Migration (PRM) should identify and implement a mechanism to conduct in-person monitoring visits in countries where security conditions limit such visits by PRM officials. (Recommendation 1) |
In response to GAO's recommendation, in Iraq, State/PRM added programs assisting Syrian refugees located in northern Iraq to PRM's existing third party monitoring contract to allow for in-person monitoring in restricted areas. State officials also reported that a more permissive security environment had allowed State personnel to conduct regular site visits in Lebanon and Turkey. In addition, in response to the GAO recommendation, PRM codified new guidance for monitoring visits in the context of the Syria refugee response. The guidance states that if the security environment deteriorates such that PRM staff cannot make field visits to a program for a period of six months beyond the planned visit date, PRM will review the situation to determine if third party monitoring or some other mechanism is warranted. During any period when in-person monitoring is not possible, PRM will work with funded organizations to make use of the full range of monitoring options available such as additional and ad-hoc reporting or remote monitoring via an interactive interface. According to State, in future years, they will include this new approach for monitoring visits in their annual strategy which lays out policy objectives for the course of the fiscal year. This guidance, in addition to the expansion of the existing third-party monitoring contract for Iraq, represents a mechanism for conducting in-person monitoring visits in countries where security conditions limit such visits by PRM officials, thereby helping to ensure that assistance is being used properly and reaching the intended beneficiaries
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| U.S. Agency for International Development | USAID's Office of Food for Peace (FFP) should identify and implement a mechanism to conduct in-person monitoring visits in countries where security conditions limit such visits by FFP officers. (Recommendation 2) |
In October 2017, GAO reported that security conditions limit in-person monitoring visits by U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) Food for Peace (FFP) officers to oversee assistance provided to Syrian refugees. In-person monitoring visits are a valuable source of information for USAID, and without such visits, financial irregularities may go unnoticed or take longer to detect. GAO recommended that USAID's Office of Food for Peace should identify and implement a mechanism to conduct in-person monitoring visits in countries where security conditions limit such visits. These countries include Jordan and Lebanon. USAID concurred with GAO's recommendation. As of April 2018, USAID noted that both FFP officer positions based in Jordan were fully staffed, increasing in-person monitoring capacity in the region. In addition, as of July 2019 , USAID has also taken a number of steps related to Lebanon. First, FFP is utilizing a third party monitoring contract to make regular site visits to activities funded by FFP in country. FFP intends to have the third party monitors complete no less than 100 site visits per year. Further, FFP has had several temporary duty assignments to Lebanon to provide oversight of programs and meet with implementing partners, including those in November 2017, June 2018 and March 2019. Provided security conditions allow, FFP aims to travel quarterly to the country to facilitate ongoing monitoring of partners and program activities. Implementation enhanced in-person monitoring will help USAID ensure that its assistance to refugees is being used properly and reaching intended beneficiaries.
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