UN appeals for $4.6 billion for Syrian refugees

The United Nations and partners called for donor countries to allocate an additional $4.6 billion towards assisting millions of Syrian refugees, most of whom are women and children, a statement said.

“Syrian refugees and the countries hosting them need our support more than any time before,” UN High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi said.

He added: “The international community must send a clear message that it stands with them and provides the urgently needed support.”

UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator Stephen O’Brien said: “Unless these additional funds are promptly secured, the UN and its partners will have to scale back life-saving assistance, not only for Syrians but also refugees and host communities, with catastrophic consequences.”

O’Brien added: “It will force families to try to survive with inadequate food intake; it will stop short nutrition programmes to bring babies back to health; it will mean families having to sleep without even plastic sheeting to protect them.”

The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said that some 13.5 people urgently need protection and life-saving aid, including two million children under the age of five.

It also indicated that inside Syria, there are 13 besieged areas with some 650,000 men, women and children cut off from aid.

UNDP official Helen Clark said: “As millions have fled Syria, we have seen extraordinary generosity and solidarity on the part of host countries and communities – and they must not be left to cope alone.”

She added: “UN agencies and NGO partners are committed to helping governments and host communities build resilience in the face of this crisis. We have made important strides, but we need more support.”

The Regional Refugee and Resilience Plan (3RP) for 2017 and 2018 launched yesterday and aims to assist over 4.7 million refugees from Syria and the countries hosting them including Turkey, Lebanon, Jordan, Iraq and Egypt.

The appeal is in addition to the $3.4 billion that the 2017 humanitarian response plan said was necessary.