Speaking at President Obama’s Refugee Summit in New York, the UK Prime Minister demonstrated how the UK is leading the international response to mass migration crises around the world.
The provision of over £1.5 billion in humanitarian finance marks more than a 10% increase on last year’s commitment and secures the UK’s place as the second largest bilateral humanitarian donor in the world.
The UK’s investments will help to protect the world’s most vulnerable people, including those persecuted by Daesh brutality in the Middle East. It includes new funding to support refugees in Uganda, Kenya, in the Sahel and Mediterranean regions, and additional support for refugees and displaced persons in Afghanistan.
The support also maintains the UK as one of the biggest humanitarian donors to Syria crisis. To date British support has delivered life-saving support of almost 22 million food rations, over 4.4 million medical consultations; and shelter for over 476,000 people.
The UK led the way at the recent World Humanitarian Summit to secure agreement to a ‘Grand Bargain’ between the 15 largest donors and 15 aid agencies on more efficient humanitarian financing. Commitments include greater support for local and national responders, greater transparency on where funding is being spent, improving collaboration between humanitarian and development agencies, such as the private sector, and increasing collaborative humanitarian multi-year planning and funding.
The UK will also contribute an initial £2.5 million to a new Emerging Countries Joint Support Resettlement Fund which is being led by the International Organisation for Migration in partnership with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.
The UK is the first to commit support for this idea in Ethiopia and the main partner for the Government of Ethiopia in developing the concept.
