{The United Nations said Thursday that it was seeking $8.4 billion, more than the annual economic output of dozens of small countries, to help nearly 18 million victims of Syria\u2019s conflict during 2015.}<\/p>\n
For the first time, the request, made at a donors\u2019 meeting in Berlin, includes development aid for communities in neighboring countries that have been overwhelmed by the exodus of refugees.<\/p>\n
The development aid \u2014 for education, public health, public works and jobs \u2014 was an acknowledgment that the crisis may last many years, and that it has seriously disrupted the lives of non-Syrians outside the war.<\/p>\n
\u201cSyria\u2019s war is still escalating, and the humanitarian situation is becoming protracted,\u201d Ant\u00f3nio Guterres, the head of the United Nations refugee agency, said in an announcement.
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\u201cRefugees and internally displaced people have exhausted their savings and resources, and host countries are at breaking point,\u201d he said. \u201cWe need a new aid architecture that links support to the refugees with what is being done to stabilize the communities who host them.\u201d<\/p>\n
The total amount requested is $1.2 billion more than the preliminary figure announced less than two weeks ago at the United Nations offices in Geneva. Aid officials said the earlier figure did not include updated information for Lebanon and Jordan, which have been deeply strained by influxes of Syrian refugees.<\/p>\n
About 12.2 million people, more than half the country\u2019s population, have been displaced within Syria because of the conflict. Some 3.2 million more have fled the country, becoming refugees in Lebanon, Jordan, Turkey, Iraq or Egypt, according to United Nations data.<\/p>\n
The United Nations\u2019 2015 financing plan includes a projection that the refugee total will rise to 4.3 million next year.<\/p>\n
The plan sets aside money to directly assist \u201cover a million vulnerable people in host communities,\u201d the announcement said, adding that an additional 20.6 million people in Jordan, Lebanon and Egypt will benefit indirectly through upgrades in local infrastructure and services.<\/p>\n
The Syrian conflict began with demonstrations against the rule of President Bashar al-Assad in March 2011, followed by a harsh crackdown; it has since become a protracted civil war that has threatened to destabilize the Middle East.<\/p>\n
\u201cConflict has devastated millions of Syrians\u2019 lives, trapping them in conflict areas and denying them access to basic provisions and health care,\u201d Valerie Amos, the United Nations under secretary general for humanitarian affairs and emergency relief coordinator, said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis plan, if fully funded, can help us provide food and medicine for children, shelter families from the cold, and support those who are desperate and traumatized,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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