Geneva, Switzerland
April 20, 2012
The United States government announced an additional $8 million in humanitarian aid to help those affected by the ongoing conflict in Syria, bringing the total U.S. government humanitarian aid to the Syria crisis to nearly $33 million to date. Mark Bartolini, Director of the Office of U.S. Foreign Disaster Assistance at the U.S. Agency for International Development, confirmed this contribution at the April 20, 2012 Syria Humanitarian Forum. The United States was also represented at the Forum by Dorothy C. Shea, Office Director for Asia and the Near East Assistance for the Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration at the U.S. Department of State.
This new funding includes $5 million for health care and emergency relief supplies for civilians in some of the most affected areas of Syria. It also includes $3 million for international organizations to provide food and cash assistance, emergency health care, water, sanitation, and educational needs for vulnerable populations throughout Syria who require additional support to offset the deteriorating situation.
In announcing the additional humanitarian assistance, Mr. Bartolini underscored, “With the resumption of violence, conditions in affected areas of Syria are dire and worsening, and humanitarians must be given safe and full access to those in need of assistance.”
The United States appreciates the efforts of the U.N.’s Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), the League of Arab States, the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, and ECHO, the European Commission’s humanitarian aid service, who jointly chaired the meeting of the Syria Humanitarian Forum. The United States will continue to support the important work that international and non-governmental organizations carry out in the region in conjunction with the generous nations of Jordan, Lebanon, Turkey, and Iraq, who are hosting and assisting those fleeing the regime’s brutal violence in Syria.