January 29, 2013: Ahead of a major humanitarian pledging conference for Syria, a senior
United Nations relief official on Monday urged greater funding to assist millions
of people in need amid a deteriorating situation inside the country and a particularly
harsh winter in the region.
“The situation in Syria, as we all know, continues
to deteriorate and that means that there are greater needs… more people in need but
also that the needs are more acute as the coping mechanisms continue to collapse,”
John Ging, the Director of Operations for the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian
Affairs (OCHA), told a news conference in New York.
“The biggest humanitarian
effort in Syria is the effort of the population to support their brothers and sisters
at this incredibly difficult time,” he added. “Families are hosting so many people
and they themselves are also affected by the situation.”
Ging, who recently
led an inter-agency humanitarian mission to Syria and Lebanon, cited a funding shortfall
that is affecting the ability of the UN and its partners to deliver vital assistance,
including food, water and medical supplies.
His comments come ahead of the
humanitarian pledging conference that Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon will chair in
Kuwait on Wednesday. The conference seeks to raise $1.5 billion to assist civilians
affected by the ongoing conflict over the next six months, including those inside
the country as well as those taking refuge beyond its borders.
In addition
to those uprooted by the conflict, at least 60,000 people, mostly civilians, have
been killed in Syria since the uprising against President Bashar al-Assad began in
early 2011. The particularly harsh winter has compounded the suffering of people
in need, especially IDPs living in shelters lacking adequate insulation with no winter
clothes and no blankets. Lack of fuel and electricity has been a major challenge for
those affected as well as for those trying to deliver vital humanitarian aid, according
to OCHA.
Despite immense security challenges and limited access, UN agencies
and humanitarian partners have scaled up aid and are reaching people in all governorates
across the country. The World Food Programme (WFP) is currently reaching about 1.5
million people a month with vital food assistance.
The UN Children’s Fund
(UNICEF) and the World Health Organization (WHO) have helped vaccinate millions of
children against measles and polio, while the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR)
and partners continue to support hundreds of thousands of refugees in neighbouring
countries.