U.S. doles out another $500 million to Syria

WASHINGTON – The war in Syria is getting expensive for the American taxpayer.

Secretary of State John Kerry announced this week the United States is providing nearly $500 million in additional humanitarian aid to help those affected by the war in Syria. This funding announcement made by the United States is in response to an appeal from the United Nations for $6 billion in contributions to mitigate the impacts of what it calls “a tragedy of historic proportions”.

The funding brings U.S. humanitarian assistance since the start of the conflict in March 2011 to more than $2.9 billion. The United States remains the single-largest donor of humanitarian aid for those affected by the Syria crisis. The U.S. State Department said that even with additional assistance from the United States, the humanitarian response to the Syria crisis remains significantly underfunded .

“The United States hopes this large contribution will encourage generous donations of humanitarian aid from other nations,”  a State Department spokesperson said.

During the Syrian war, more than half of Syria’s population has been forced to flee their homes. Nearly 6.5 million civilians have been displaced within Syria, and the UN estimates that nearly 11 million Syrians are in need of aid within the country and face threats, displacement, hunger, injury, and death due to the appalling tactics of the Assad regime and extremist groups such as the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL). By late August, UNHCR had registered more than three million refugees from Syria in Jordan, Turkey, Iraq, Lebanon, and Egypt, with several hundred thousand more who have yet to be registered.

Of the nearly $500 million in aid in this latest announcement, more than $240 million will aid those affected by the conflict in Syria, including Palestinians. More than $130 million of the aid directed inside Syria will be provided through non-governmental organizations providing much-needed materials to prepare for winter, medical care, food, water, shelter, psychosocial support, and other critical aid . The remaining amount, more than $250 million, will assist refugees and host communities in the neighboring countries affected by the crisis.

With this new funding, the United States has provided more than $1.4 billion in humanitarian aid for those in need within Syria and more than $1.4 billion for refugees and host communities in the region since the crisis began. A portion of U.S. humanitarian assistance designated for inside Syria will facilitate follow through on UN Security Council Resolution 2165, which authorizes UN agencies and their implementing partners to bring life-saving assistance across conflict lines and through several additional border crossings into Syria in order to reach some of the hardest hit areas. Nearly $100 million of the newly announced assistance inside Syria will further strengthen the United States’ long-standing cross-border programs, which are providing humanitarian aid to areas outside the regime’s control.

A breakdown of assistance by country is as follows:

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