Brussels, 25 April 2018 - Delegates to a conference co-hosted by the European Union and United Nations in Brussels pledged some US$4.4 billion to efforts to reach 22 million affected people inside Syria and in neighboring countries.

Thirty-six donors at the conference made pledges towards the Syria Humanitarian Response Plan and the Regional Refugee and Resilience Plan.

Coordinated by UN humanitarian and development agencies, the plans aim to reach 13.1 million people in need of humanitarian assistance inside Syria, 5.6 million refugees in neighboring countries, and 3.9 million vulnerable members of communities hosting refugees.

“The international community showed strong solidarity with affected Syrians inside Syria and in neighboring countries, as well as the countries who since 2011 have shown tremendous generosity by hosting record numbers of refugees,” said Achim Steiner, Administrator of the United Nations Development Programme. “More funding will be needed to address the deepening needs of affected and vulnerable communities, however today the focus is on reaching as many people as we can.”

By the close of the conference, with delegates including host countries, specialized United Nations agencies and non-governmental organisations, a further US$3.4 billion had also been pledged for humanitarian and development programmes in 2019 and 2020.

The Syria crisis is the world’s largest protection and displacement crisis and 13.1 million people are in need of humanitarian assistance and protection inside the country.

The conflict continues to drive the largest refugee crisis in the world – there are 5.6 million Syrian refugees registered, with over 2.6 million being children, in a region faced with deepening economic, social and development challenges.

It is also a development crisis, with 69 per cent of people inside Syria living in extreme poverty, and over 80 per cent of refugees living in poverty in some host countries. Host countries have demonstrated outstanding generosity to Syrian refugees for over seven years despite the huge pressure on services, infrastructure and labor markets.

The United Nations and the European Union cooperated very closely and substantially in the preparation of the conference, which further reaffirmed that only an inclusive, comprehensive and genuine political solution will ensure a sustainable end to the Syrian conflict.

More about UNDP's work in responce to the Syria crisis here.

Contact information:

Theodore Murphy, theodore.murphy@undp.org +1-718-915-2097
Ludmila Tiganu, ludmila.tiganu@undp.org +32 471 702 903