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UN seeks $5.5 bn to help countries hosting Syria refugees
AMMAN, Dec 11, 2018 (BSS/AFP) – The United Nations and aid partners on
Tuesday said they need $5.5 billion to support countries hosting millions of
Syrian refugees, including a million babies born in displacement.
The “Regional Refugee and Resilience Plan” aims to help Egypt, Jordan,
Lebanon, Iraq and Turkey deal with the impact of hosting some 5.6 million
Syrian refugees.
“These neighbouring countries have remained incredibly generous in hosting
large refugee populations since the start of the crisis” in Syria in March
2011, a statement said.
It noted that providing refuge to millions of Syrians who have fled the
devastating conflict is “challenging” and has taken a toll on public services
and the “development trajectories” of the host countries.
“Some 5.6 million Syrian refugees are currently registered across the
region with around one million newly born in displacement,” the statement
said.
“These one million children have largely been born into a situation where
poverty and unemployment are common, early marriage and child labour occur,
and an education is not always secure,” said Amin Awad, the UN refugee
agency’s director for the Middle East and North Africa.
The $5.5 billion plan for 2019-2020 by the UN and more than 200 partner
aid groups is designed to target more than nine million people across five
countries, the statement said.
It will fund several projects for refugees, including education for
children as well as “enhancing basic services and economic opportunities”, it
added.
“Vulnerable host communities… face deepening socio-economic challenges,”
it said, adding that the plan aims also to support the work of local
institutions and municipalities who work with refugees.
Syria’s civil war has killed more than 360,000 people since it started with
the brutal repression of anti-government protests in 2011, and has displaced
6.6 million internally in addition to those who fled abroad.
Host countries have repeatedly complained that hosting the Syrian refugees
is a drain on their resources, urging the international community to step in
and help them cope.
BSS/AFP/FI/ 1832 hrs