UN appeals to donors for $6.5bn for humanitarian aid in Syria

Faced with the prospect of a worsening situation inside Syria and continuing outflows of refugees in 2014, the United Nations (UN) agencies on Monday appealed to donors for USD 6.5 billion in funds, the biggest amount so far requested for a single humanitarian emergency. The response plans were presented to donors here today in on behalf of UN agencies and NGOs by the Emergency Relief Coordinator Valerie Amos, and UN High Commissioner for Refugees Antlonio Guterres in a press conference in the UN Geneva. The two organizations they represent lead the multi-agency international humanitarian responses underway inside Syria and in the surrounding region. "As we look towards the fourth year of this appalling crisis, we see that nearly three-quarters of Syrians will need humanitarian aid in 2014. With the help of the international community, the United Nations, Red Crescent and partner NGOs will continue deliver vital aid and seek protection for the ordinary men women and children caught up in the conflict," said Valerie Amos in the same Press conference. Today's appeal is based on projections of continuing humanitarian needs and large-scale displacement both inside Syria and into neighboring countries during 2014. Some USD 2.3 billion of the USD 6.5 billion total is for the OCHA-led Syria Humanitarian Assistance Response Plan (SHARP) for people inside Syria. The remaining USD 4.2 billion is for the UNHCR-led Regional Response Plan 6 (RRP6), which helps refugees and host-communities in neighboring countries. The 2014 appeals represent the support plans of more than 100 partner organizations - UN agencies, national and international NGOs - who are working together to address the needs of Syrians. "We're facing a terrifying situation here where, by the end of 2014, substantially more of the population of Syria could be displaced or in need of humanitarian help than not," said High Commissioner for Refugees Antonio Guterres. "This goes beyond anything we have seen in many, many years, and makes the need for a political solution all the much greater," he added, indicating that "for now it remains of live-saving importance that the international humanitarian response is supported. Massive international solidarity is crucial, not only to support suffering Syrians, but also for the countries that have so generously taken in refugees. The Syria crisis is having a dramatic impact on their economies, societies and even on their security." Over 2.3 million people have fled Syria since the beginning of the conflict in March 2011, in one of the largest refugee exoduses in recent history. Support for the surrounding countries includes help for refugee-hosting communities in Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, and Turkey, which provide Syrians with basic shelter, protection, and other essential support. The planning projections contained in RRP6 allow for up to 4.1 million refugees by end 2014. USG Amos emphasized the fact that to end the suffering altogether Syrians need a political solution. "As humanitarians our focus must be on continuing to do everything we can to reach people with life-saving and life-sustaining aid. This includes mobilizing funding and urging the commitment of all who have influence over the parties who perpetuate this conflict, to ensuring the flow of aid and to protecting civilians," she said.