Five billion euros ($5.4 billion) in aid for Syrian refugees were promised by international donors on Monday, with the EU leading the charge. Brussels maintained that the migrants should not be “pushed back” to their war-torn country.
During an annual meeting presided over by EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell, the EU committed 2.12 billion euros for 2024 and 2025.
This sum comprised the 560 million euros that were pledged this year for the aid of internally displaced Syrians in Lebanon, Jordan, and Iraq, as well as the same amount for 2025.
A billion euros were also promised by the group for Syrian refugees in Turkey, their neighbor.
“The situation in Syria is more dire today than one year ago. In fact, it has never been so dire and humanitarian needs are at all time high,” Borrell said.
“Today 16.7 million Syrians are in need of humanitarian assistance, the highest level since the start of the crisis over 13 years ago.”
In addition to the five billion euros in funding, donors also offered to finance an additional 2.5 billion euros, according to EU humanitarian chief Janez Lenarcic.
Three quarters of the grants offered, according to him, came from the EU and its member states collectively.
The US announced that it has also committed to providing Syria with humanitarian aid of approximately 545 million euros ($593 million). An additional statement from the State Department stated that Washington “remains committed to assisting the Syrian people and encourages other donors to continue their support for Syrians”.
The UN refugee agency issued a warning that its operations to serve Syrian refugees were “significantly underfunded at 15 percent almost six months into 2024,” which prompted the fundraising campaign.
“While we welcome the pledges made today, the discussion remains far removed from the harsh realities Syrians face,” Oxfam’s Syria director, Moutaz Adham, said.
“Funding still fails to match the scale of needs and year after year, the number of people relying on aid grows.”
