United States Announces Additional Humanitarian Assistance for Syria Crisis

Secretary of State John Kerry announced Friday the United States is providing nearly $500 million in additional humanitarian aid to help those affected by the war in Syria.

According to the statement released by the US Department of State, this is the largest funding announcement made by the United States in response to the largest appeal the United Nations has ever issued. The UN’s revised Syria appeals, issued in July, requested $6 billion in contributions to mitigate the impacts of a tragedy of historic proportions.

The funding brings U.S. humanitarian assistance since the start of the conflict in March 2011 to more than $2.9 billion. The United States remains the single-largest donor of humanitarian aid for those affected by Syria crisis, which has become the biggest humanitarian emergency of our era. Even with additional assistance from the United States, the humanitarian response to the Syria crisis remains significantly underfunded. With the international community preparing to convene for UN General Assembly meetings in New York and the Syria donors’ conference in Kuwait in October, the United States hopes this large contribution will encourage generous donations of humanitarian aid from other nations.

More than half of Syria’s population has been forced to flee their homes. Nearly 6.5 million civilians have been displaced within Syria, and the UN estimates that nearly 11 million Syrians are in need of aid within the country and face threats, displacement, hunger, injury, and death due to the appalling tactics of the Assad regime and extremist groups such as the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL). By late August, UNHCR had registered more than three million refugees from Syria in Jordan, Turkey, Iraq, Lebanon, and Egypt, with several hundred thousand more who have yet to be registered.

Assistance within Syria and Region-wide

U.S. humanitarian assistance is saving lives in Syria and in the countries of Jordan, Egypt, Iraq, Lebanon, and Turkey that are generously hosting Syrian refugees. Of the nearly $500 million, more than $240 million will aid those affected by the conflict in Syria, including Palestinians. More than $130 million of the aid directed inside Syria will be provided through non-governmental organizations providing much-needed materials to prepare for winter, medical care, food, water, shelter, psychosocial support, and other critical aid . The remaining amount, more than $250 million, will assist refugees and host communities in the neighboring countries affected by the crisis.

With this new funding, the United States has provided more than $1.4 billion in humanitarian aid for those in need within Syria and more than $1.4 billion for refugees and host communities in the region since the crisis began. A portion of U.S. humanitarian assistance designated for inside Syria will facilitate follow through on UN Security Council Resolution 2165, which authorizes UN agencies and their implementing partners to bring life-saving assistance across conflict lines and through several additional border crossings into Syria in order to reach some of the hardest hit areas. Nearly $ 100 million of the newly announced assistance inside Syria will further strengthen the United States’ long-standing cross-border programs, which are providing humanitarian aid to areas outside the regime’s control.

The United States remains committed to working through all possible channels to provide aid to those in need where ever they reside.

A breakdown of assistance by country is as follows: