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| [PHOTO: Russell Watkins/UK-DFID/Flickr/CC BY 2.0] |
New York City: UN humanitarian and development agencies have appealed member states for nearly USD 8 billion in new funding for 2016 to help 22.5 million people in Syria and across the region.
The appeal comprises two main elements: help for an anticipated 4.7 million refugees in neighbouring countries by the end of 2016 as well as 4 million people in communities hosting them, and support for 13.5 million displaced and conflict-affected people inside Syria itself.
The Regional Refugee and Resilience Plan (3RP) 2016 covers the activities of some 200 partners including UN agencies, inter-governmental organizations and non-governmental organizations in Turkey, Lebanon, Jordan, Iraq and Egypt. Amounting to $4.55 billion, the appeal aims to support people forced to flee Syria into the surrounding region and the communities in which they are being hosted.
Key strategic directions in the 3RP this year include greater investment in education and increased opportunities for vocational training and livelihoods for refugees and host communities. The partners behind the programme are also calling for more support to the most vulnerable refugees to meet their food and other basic needs, alongside increased support to national capacities and systems for the delivery of health, education, water and other services.
The 3RP partners urge donors to disburse funds earlier this year, provide multi-year funding and harmonize their humanitarian and development allocations to assist in better planning and predictability.
The Syria Humanitarian Response Plan 2016 warns that the conflict in Syria remains the world’s largest protection crisis. An estimated 250,000 people have been killed and around 1.2 million injured. This year the Syria Humanitarian Response Plan calls for nearly $3.2 billion to provide humanitarian support and protection to 13.5 million people inside Syria in 2016. These needs were calculated following a rigorous data collection and prioritization exercise throughout the country.
The Plan focuses on saving lives, improving humanitarian access, enhancing protection and supporting long-term resilience for the most vulnerable communities.
The Syria Conference on 4 February in London will be an opportunity to shine a light on the human impact of the conflict, particularly on women, girls and young people. It will rally support for accountability for abuses against civilians and the failure to protect them.
The Syria appeals are part of the wider 2016 humanitarian appeal, asking for $20.1 billion to reach 87 million people around the world, launched last December. -UNifeed