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Charity warns of inadequate aid funding for Syria

Thursday, 28 January 2016 7:04 PM [ Last Update: Thursday, 28 January 2016 7:04 PM ]

Internally displaced children pull branches used for heating inside a refugee camp in the town of Salqin, Idlib Province, Syria, January 17, 2016. ©Reuters

An international charity has warned of insufficient aid funding for Syria, saying donors need to do more to help those affected by ongoing crisis in the Arab country.

Considering the scale of the conflict, the aid response in Syria and the Middle East is "critically underfunded,” Simon Starling, the head of policy and campaigns at Ireland-based Concern Worldwide, said on Thursday.

"We're still doing very basic humanitarian relief work - which is necessary but not sufficient," Starling said, adding that people’s livelihood and children’s presence at schools are among the issues that need to be focused on.

He further noted that the problem is not all about money, but also about more global cooperation to end the conflict in Syria.

"Without a more coherent ... more ambitious push by the international community to bring an end to the conflict, all this is ultimately a sticking plaster over a wound that's gaping," Starling said.

Residents of the besieged Syrian town of Madaya wait for a convoy of aid from the Syrian Arab Red Crescent on January 14, 2016. ©AFP

Earlier this month, the United Nations launched a joint appeal for USD 7.7 billion to help those affected by the violence in Syria and the Middle East.

Next week, donors plan to attend a meeting, hosted by Britain, Germany, Norway, Kuwait and the UN.

"Donors must commit funds that match the scale and protracted nature of this crisis and they must honor these commitments," said Rose Caldwell, executive director of Concern Worldwide.

According to the UN, up to 4.5 million people live in hard-to-reach areas of Syria which has witnessed a deadly conflict fueled by foreign-sponsored Takfiri terrorists since March 2011.

Over 260,000 people have reportedly lost their lives while millions of others have been forced to flee their homes due to the violence.

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