Germany on Tuesday pledged 1.74 billion euros ($2 billion) at a donor conference on aid for Syria and refugees from its decadelong conflict, with the U.N. saying $10 billion are needed overall.
"The Syrian tragedy must not last another ten years. Ending it begins by restoring hope. It begins with our commitments, here, today," German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas said.
The United States will provide more than $596 million in new humanitarian aid to respond to the Syrian crisis, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Tuesday. He added the re-authorization and expansion of the cross-border mandate in July is a U.S. priority.
"The Syrian people have faced innumerable atrocities, including Assad regime and Russian airstrikes, forced disappearances, ISIS brutality, and chemical weapons attacks," Blinken said, according to remarks carried by Reuters. "Furthermore, systemic corruption and economic mismanagement at the hands of the Assad regime have exacerbated the dire humanitarian crisis, which has been further compounded by the challenge of COVID-19."
The U.N. and other aid groups are seeking more than $4 billion (TL 32.31 billion) for aid within Syria at this year’s conference, their biggest appeal yet. Another $5.8 billion is requested for the nearly 6 million Syrian refugees who fled their homeland. Over the years, pledges have typically fallen short. The humanitarian appeal for 2020 was 45% below its $3.82 billion target – nearly a 14% drop from the year before.
Some of the money will help Lebanon, Jordan, Turkey, Iraq and Egypt, which have been forced to provide for millions of war refugees despite many problems of their own.
Pledges were already dropping off before the coronavirus pandemic mainly due to donor fatigue. Officials fear that with the global economic downturn spurred by the pandemic, international assistance for Syria is about to take a new hit just when it is needed most. Across Syria, the pandemic has compounded the worst economic crisis since the conflict began in 2011.
The local currency has crashed and food prices have soared – increasing by 222% from last year. Nine out of 10 people live below the poverty line and in northwest Syria, close to three-quarters of the 4.3 million residents are food insecure. According to the U.N., 13.4 million people in Syria, more than half the country’s prewar population, need assistance. That is a 20% increase from last year.
