GENEVA: The Red Cross appealed yesterday for a record budget to help Syrians affected by the humanitarian catastrophe in their country, in the largest funding of an operation since the 1990s Balkan wars.
“The scale of the conflict in Syria is unprecedented, and the stark truth is that there is no end in sight,” said Robert Mardini, who heads Near and Middle East operations at the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC).
“The bleak reality is that the needs are growing at a much faster pace than the humanitarian aid being provided on the ground,” he told reporters in Geneva.
The ICRC, he said, needs $212m this year — $84m more than previously estimated — to help address the needs of Syrians both inside the country and in the surrounding region.
Most of the cash requested by the ICRC — $157m of it — is meant to go to the organisation’s activities inside the war-torn country, while the remainder will go to aid operations in Lebanon, Jordan, Egypt and Iraq.
More than funding, the main concern for the organisation in Syria was lack of access to tens of thousands of people in need, especially in besieged areas, Mardini said. To overcome constraints linked to violence and mistrust, the ICRC is attempting to intensify its dialogues with different parties to ensure it can bring food, medical care and other necessities to where they are most needed.
The ICRC also aims to increase its presence on the ground in Syria, with plans to add 50 more local employees bringing the total to 250, and to increase the number of expatriate workers to 65-70 from 40.
AFP
