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Add to Preferred SourcesThe fourth Brussels conference on “Supporting the Future of Syria and the Region” – the main high-level pledging event for the Syria crisis – took place virtually, with the international community confirming US$5.5 billion in funding to support humanitarian, resilience and development activities in 2020 for the Syria crisis response.
Funding of $2.2 billion for humanitarian, resilience, and development activities in 2021 and beyond for the Syria crisis response was also confirmed.
Speaking at the opening of the event, Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator Mark Lowcock emphasized that the Syria crisis is approaching the length of the combination of World Wars I and II, with Syrians inside the country and in the region being confronted with new challenges.
“The Syrian economy is in a dramatic downturn. Prices of essentials – food, medicines, fuel – are soaring. The Syrian pound fell to a record low against the US dollar this month,” Mr. Lowcock said.
“And now we have COVID-19, which has the potential to cause much more suffering and loss, with preparations to tackle it inside Syria wholly inadequate in the light of the degrading of the health system through the years of crisis,” he added
The UN’s Regional Refugee and Resilience Plan for 2020, for which a little more than $6 billion was being sought, will provide food assistance, medical services, better access to water and sanitation, and education for millions of Syrian refugees.
The UN humanitarian chief noted that inside Syria, humanitarian operations in the first quarter of 2020 reached more than 5.5 million people in government-controlled areas and through cross-line deliveries to the north-east. That includes food assistance for more than 3.2 million people; nutrition support for 500,000 children; critical water and sanitation for 1.3 million people; and 4 million medical procedures.
In addition, the cross-border operation into north-west Syria is delivering at unprecedented levels, providing a lifeline for 2.8 million people in need in the area.
Mr. Lowcock also highlighted that inside Syria, an estimated 2.45 million school-age children are out of school, while another 1.6 million are at risk of dropping out.
Despite the current socioeconomic challenges, refugee-hosting countries continue to generously provide access to education services. An estimated 1.2 million school-age Syrian children in refugee-hosting countries are enrolled in education programmes. But 800,000 more remain out of school, and many of those who are enrolled are at risk of dropping out, the UN humanitarian chief said.
“One of the major challenges is funding. So, I want particularly to urge the donor countries here today to give greater priority in your pledges to the education of these children – in your own interests, but most importantly in theirs,” Mr. Lowcock said.
The $5.5 billion in funding confirmed by the international community will support humanitarian, resilience and development activities in 2020 for the Syria crisis response, which includes pledges towards the Syria Humanitarian Response Plan (HRP), the Regional Refugee and Resilience Plan (3RP) and the ICRC Syria crisis appeals. This funding also includes support for UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) requirements for Palestine refugees in Syria outside the HRP and 3RP, multi-donor mechanisms, as well as other funding for 2020.
Original source: OCHA
Published on 30 June 2020