U.S. SENDING MORE HUMANITARIAN AID TO SYRIAN REFUGEES.

Map:  Turkey.  Credit:  U.S. CIA
FROM: U.S. STATE DEPARTMENT
08/11/2012 09:15 AM EDT
Additional Humanitarian Assistance for Those Fleeing the Violence in Syria

Media Note
Office of the Spokesperson
Washington, DC
August 11, 2012
The United States is pursuing every available avenue, including focused diplomatic efforts, to secure full and unfettered access for humanitarian organizations to reach, and provide humanitarian assistance to the innocent children, women, and men caught in the middle of the ongoing Syrian conflict. Today in Istanbul, Secretary Clinton announced the United States is providing an additional $5.5 million in humanitarian assistance bringing the total U.S. contribution for this crisis to nearly $82 million. This latest tranche of U.S. assistance is targeted toward communities who have sought refuge in Turkey.

The Government of Turkey, in coordination with the Turkish Red Crescent, provides humanitarian assistance including shelter, food, and access to health and education services to Syrians in eleven camps in four provinces along the Turkey-Syria border. This additional U.S. funding will assist in providing lifesaving assistance to the more than 50,000 people who fled to camps in Turkey to escape the violence of the Syrian regime. This additional U.S. funding, through UNHCR and IOM, will assist in protecting the fundamental well-being of the most vulnerable people, through the provision of tents, blankets, kitchen sets, and other critical relief supplies. This funding will support increased access to basic health care, mobile health clinics, and psychosocial support services to help Syrians in camps cope with the trauma of witnessing brutal conflict and leaving family, friends, homes, and livelihoods behind.

In total, for humanitarian activities both inside Syria and in neighboring countries, the United States is providing:

$27.5 million to the World Food Program (WFP);
$23.1 million to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR);
$15.1 million to nongovernmental organizations (NGOs);
$8 million to the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC);
$3 million to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA);
$2.75 million to the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF);
$1 million to the International Federation of the Red Cross (IFRC);
$500,000 to the International Organization for Migration (IOM);
$500,000 to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs; and
$300,000 to the UN Department of Safety and Security for support of humanitarian operations

We recognize the generosity of the Governments of Turkey, Lebanon, Jordan, and Iraq, who have kept their borders open and are hosting and providing assistance to those fleeing the violence in Syria. We commend the efforts of the United Nations and other international organizations and nongovernmental organizations to ease the trauma that the conflict in Syria has inflicted on those fleeing the violence.

While the first hope of those fleeing violence is to be able to return to their homes and help build a democratic Syria, this may not be an option for some time to come. For that reason, the United States is working with our counterparts to plan for the future needs of those Syrians seeking safety in neighboring countries.