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| U.N. Appeals for $5 Billion in Aid for Syria | U.N. Appeals for $5 Billion in Aid for Syria |
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| GENEVA — The United Nations presented the biggest financing appeal in its history on Friday, asking for more than $5 billion in humanitarian aid for Syria this year to help millions of people affected by the country’s civil war and contain the pressures building up in neighboring countries that are overwhelmed by Syrian refugees. | GENEVA — The United Nations presented the biggest financing appeal in its history on Friday, asking for more than $5 billion in humanitarian aid for Syria this year to help millions of people affected by the country’s civil war and contain the pressures building up in neighboring countries that are overwhelmed by Syrian refugees. |
| “These are massive figures but they mask a human tragedy,” Valerie Amos, the United Nations’ humanitarian aid coordinator, told reporters after presenting the appeal to donor government representatives in Geneva. Syria’s conflict, now in its third year, has set the country’s development back two decades, she said. “We are concerned that as the needs are rising we are not able to meet them all.” | “These are massive figures but they mask a human tragedy,” Valerie Amos, the United Nations’ humanitarian aid coordinator, told reporters after presenting the appeal to donor government representatives in Geneva. Syria’s conflict, now in its third year, has set the country’s development back two decades, she said. “We are concerned that as the needs are rising we are not able to meet them all.” |
| The latest appeal for Syria equals half the financing requested by the United Nations for 16 other countries. | |
| Calling the Syrian conflict “the most dangerous crisis since the end of the cold war,” António Guterres, the United Nations high commissioner for refugees, urged world leaders to respond to the appeal not just out of compassion but as a form of “enlightened self-interest” to help stabilize the region and avert “an explosion in the Middle East.” | Calling the Syrian conflict “the most dangerous crisis since the end of the cold war,” António Guterres, the United Nations high commissioner for refugees, urged world leaders to respond to the appeal not just out of compassion but as a form of “enlightened self-interest” to help stabilize the region and avert “an explosion in the Middle East.” |
| The United Nations believes that one-third of Syria’s 20 million people need assistance urgently and that the number could rise to 10 million by the end of the year. At the same time, relief agencies are struggling to keep up with an outflow of 200,000 refugees every month, Mr. Guterres said. The United Nations puts the current number of refugees at 1.6 million and says that if the fighting does not stop, that number could double by the end of the year. | The United Nations believes that one-third of Syria’s 20 million people need assistance urgently and that the number could rise to 10 million by the end of the year. At the same time, relief agencies are struggling to keep up with an outflow of 200,000 refugees every month, Mr. Guterres said. The United Nations puts the current number of refugees at 1.6 million and says that if the fighting does not stop, that number could double by the end of the year. |
| In response, the United Nations called for $2.9 billion in 2013 to support refugees and $1.4 billion for people trapped inside the country. It also asked for $830 million on behalf of two countries, Lebanon and Jordan, which each have more than half a million registered refugees and many more unregistered ones. | In response, the United Nations called for $2.9 billion in 2013 to support refugees and $1.4 billion for people trapped inside the country. It also asked for $830 million on behalf of two countries, Lebanon and Jordan, which each have more than half a million registered refugees and many more unregistered ones. |
| The United Nations-coordinated response has already received about $1.25 billion from appeals earlier this year, United Nations officials said. | The United Nations-coordinated response has already received about $1.25 billion from appeals earlier this year, United Nations officials said. |
| The $5.13 billion appeal is huge compared with other appeals for humanitarian aid, Mr. Guterres acknowledged. But it is equivalent to what Americans spend on ice cream every 32 days and what German drivers spend on gasoline every six weeks, he maintained, without providing a source for those statistics. | The $5.13 billion appeal is huge compared with other appeals for humanitarian aid, Mr. Guterres acknowledged. But it is equivalent to what Americans spend on ice cream every 32 days and what German drivers spend on gasoline every six weeks, he maintained, without providing a source for those statistics. |
| Governments’ traditional humanitarian aid budgets are no longer capable of generating this scale of financing, and they need to turn to their parliaments for other resources, Mr. Guterres said. The European Union’s announcement on Thursday that it is providing 400 million euros, about $528 million, for Syria is a sign of this trend, he added, but a “dramatic increase in international solidarity” is essential. | Governments’ traditional humanitarian aid budgets are no longer capable of generating this scale of financing, and they need to turn to their parliaments for other resources, Mr. Guterres said. The European Union’s announcement on Thursday that it is providing 400 million euros, about $528 million, for Syria is a sign of this trend, he added, but a “dramatic increase in international solidarity” is essential. |
| Donor governments, grappling with the scale of demands for Syria, have expressed concern about the implications for assisting in other humanitarian crises, for example, in Mali, the Sahel region of northern Africa, and Sudan. | Donor governments, grappling with the scale of demands for Syria, have expressed concern about the implications for assisting in other humanitarian crises, for example, in Mali, the Sahel region of northern Africa, and Sudan. |
| Relief agencies working in and around Syria warn that despite the large funds provided, their ability to alleviate suffering is limited. | Relief agencies working in and around Syria warn that despite the large funds provided, their ability to alleviate suffering is limited. |
| The influx of refugees to Lebanon has outpaced the arrival of aid, leaving many families crammed into half-built houses or squalid tents and relief agencies cutting back medical assistance, Bruno Jochum, a Switzerland-based director of Doctors Without Borders, said in an interview. “There are not enough operators on the ground delivering meaningful assistance,” he said. | |
| Deteriorating nutrition and the damage inflicted in Syria by bombardments on hospitals and water purification plants led the World Health Organization to express concerns this week about looming outbreaks of diseases like hepatitis, typhoid, cholera and dysentery. | Deteriorating nutrition and the damage inflicted in Syria by bombardments on hospitals and water purification plants led the World Health Organization to express concerns this week about looming outbreaks of diseases like hepatitis, typhoid, cholera and dysentery. |
| “The needs inside Syria are so huge,” Marc Lucet, emergency coordinator in Syria for Unicef, said in a telephone interview, recounting its efforts to keep water supplies and purification going and provide shelter and classrooms for children. "We know a lot of the needs are not covered, a lot of the population is not reached. If we have the funds we can do more.” | “The needs inside Syria are so huge,” Marc Lucet, emergency coordinator in Syria for Unicef, said in a telephone interview, recounting its efforts to keep water supplies and purification going and provide shelter and classrooms for children. "We know a lot of the needs are not covered, a lot of the population is not reached. If we have the funds we can do more.” |
| Responding to the collapse of food production and the local economy as a result of the conflict, the World Food Program says it is now providing food for around two and a half million people, one million more than at the start of the year, and expects the number to rise to around four million by the end of 2013, despite the challenges of delivering assistance across lines of conflict. | Responding to the collapse of food production and the local economy as a result of the conflict, the World Food Program says it is now providing food for around two and a half million people, one million more than at the start of the year, and expects the number to rise to around four million by the end of 2013, despite the challenges of delivering assistance across lines of conflict. |
| “We have reached a stage in Syria where some of the people, if they do not get food from the World Food Program, they simply do not eat,” Muhannad Hadi, the program’s emergency coordinator in Syria, told reporters in Geneva. “If mothers do not get food on the promised day that we deliver food, then there is nothing for them to cook for their children. Their children will go to bed on an empty stomach.” | “We have reached a stage in Syria where some of the people, if they do not get food from the World Food Program, they simply do not eat,” Muhannad Hadi, the program’s emergency coordinator in Syria, told reporters in Geneva. “If mothers do not get food on the promised day that we deliver food, then there is nothing for them to cook for their children. Their children will go to bed on an empty stomach.” |