US To Provide Additional $34 Million To Syria For Humanitarian Aid

The United States said Friday it will provide more than $34 million in additional humanitarian assistance to help those affected by the conflict in Syria. With this new assistance, the U.S. is providing more than $165 million in humanitarian aid to help those suffering inside Syria and refugees in the neighboring countries, according to the State Department.

The additional funds were announced today at the Syria Humanitarian Forum in Geneva by Deputy Assistant Secretary Kelly T. Clements.

According to the State Department, this additional funding from the United States will help meet winterization needs in Jordan, Turkey, and Lebanon and keep families warm during the coming winter by providing additional supplies such as blankets, heating stoves, and heavy-duty plastic sheeting to cover windows and other damaged areas of buildings housing those displaced by the Assad regime’s violence inside Syria.

A portion of these funds will also be used to support child protection issues, psychosocial support, and education, as well as measures to prevent gender-based violence.

This additional funding will also support an immunization campaign that will protect up to one million children inside Syria from measles and other preventable diseases, the State Department said. In addition, the State Department said, the U.S. is increasing support for the logistical operation that allows life-saving aid to be delivered when and where possible in Syria.

This funding will also support the transport of wounded Syrians from the Lebanon-Syria border so they can receive the medical attention they desperately need.

According to the State Department, U.S.-supported humanitarian assistance, excluding food assistance, has reached more than one million people inside Syria and approximately 380,000 who have fled to the safety of neighboring countries.

The State Department said that the U.S. is the largest donor of food assistance to Syria through the World Food Program (WFP), which is reaching 1.5 million displaced and conflict-affected persons within Syria. During the September distribution cycle, WFP food rations were distributed through more than 200 distribution points in all 14 governorates.