Brussels, 03/11/2015 (Agence Europe) - The European Commission is to increase its humanitarian aid to displaced Syrians affected by the conflict in their country.
It decided on Tuesday 3 November to grant €62 million to help Syrians displaced inside the country. This aid will help cover basic needs of refugees and host communities, such as health care, clean water and shelter, and help them better cope with the winter conditions. “We must continue to get humanitarian aid to Syrians in need as the coming winter will bring additional hardship to the most vulnerable”, said Humanitarian Aid Commissioner Christos Stylianides in a press release.
The commissioner, visiting the region in recent days, has been to the Zaatari refugee camp in Jordan and the camp in the Bekaa Valley in Lebanon. “I've met whole families who have fled Syria. I've seen first hand how our humanitarian aid is making and will make a difference, yet peace is the only solution that can end the refugee crisis”, he said.
This additional allocation for Syrian refugees in Syria is on top of those of €43 million and €28 million announced this weekend for Lebanon and Jordan respectively. The three envelopes form part of the response to the humanitarian crisis triggered by the Syrian conflict put in place by the European Union at the end of September following the requests of the United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) and the World Food Programme (WFP) (see EUROPE 11395).
With over 1.1 million Syrian refugees, a quarter of its total population, Lebanon hosts more refugees per inhabitant than any other country in the world and, in absolute terms, has taken in more Syrian refugees than any country except Turkey.
In their response to the Syrian crisis, the EU and its member states are the leading donor with over €4.2 billion collectively in humanitarian, development, economic and stabilisation assistance.
Fresh aid for the Balkans. The Commission also decided on Tuesday to grant additional funding of €2 million for refugees and asylum seekers currently in the Western Balkans. With the arrival of winter, this humanitarian aid will enable the UNHCR to provide 200,000 refugees with warm clothes for the winter and temporary shelter and protection at reception sites in the region.
In 2015, the Commission has provided a total of €8.74 million in humanitarian aid for the Western Balkan region. This latest envelope UNHCR is part of the €17 million aid package announced in early October to help Serbia and the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia cope with the refugee influx. (Original version in French by Mathieu Bion)