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Syrian refugee camps in Jordan.

Nations pledge $3.8bn for Syria humanitarian crisis

KUWAIT, March 31, 2015

Countries have pledged $3.8 billion to help with the humanitarian crisis in Syria, United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon said at a summit in the Kuwaiti capital on Tuesday.

The United Nations is seeking to fund aid efforts to help 18 million people inside Syria and those scattered throughout the region by more than four years of civil war, as well as the countries and communities struggling to host them.

The US pledged $507 million and Kuwait promised $500 million towards easing Syria's humanitarian crisis.

The UAE said it was providing $100 million and Saudi Arabia pledged an additional $60 million.

Some 200,000 people have died and nearly half the Syrian population has been displaced by the conflict that began with anti-government protests in 2011 and spiralled into full-scale civil war. The number of people needing humanitarian aid has increased by 2.9 million in just 10 months.

Nearly 80 governments and dozens of aid agencies are meeting in Kuwait for the UN summit. They hope to collect major pledges towards an $8.4 billion appeal for Syria.

Although the response to the first annual conference in Kuwait in 2013 exceeded the $1.5 billion requested, last year's conference only secured pledges of $2.4 billion towards a $6.5 billion appeal. - Reuters




Tags: Kuwait | Syria | Humanitarian |

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