New York: UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), UN refugee agency (UNHCR) and UN Development Programme (UNDP) have called on the international community to step up funding for relief programmes supporting millions of people in Syria and the region.
"There is no respite for civilians in Syria," the UN Agencies said in a joint news release on Monday.
According to Mark Lowcock, UN Emergency Relief Coordinator and head of OCHA, plummeting living conditions, economic decline and COVID-19 result in more hunger, malnutrition and disease.
"It has been ten years of despair and disaster for Syrians," Lowcock stated.
Across Syria and in the region, 24 million people are in need of humanitarian or other forms of assistance – 4 million more than last year – and the highest since the conflict started.
The appeal was made ahead of the fifth Brussels conference for Syria, which will be held on March 29-30, to mobilise funds to support food, water and sanitation, health services, education, child vaccinations and shelter within Syria.
The funds will also support cash assistance programmes, job and training opportunities, and other services such as access to primary and secondary education, in conjunction with national systems in neighbouring countries, according to the UN agencies.
In all, over $10 billion is needed to fully support Syrians and refugee-hosting communities in need, they added.
The amount includes at least $4.2 billion for response inside Syria and $5.8 billion for refugees and host communities in the region.
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