Off the wire
• India, Myanmar hold first joint consultative commission meeting  • U.S. stocks open higher after Greek vote  • Bank of Portugal to blame for BES fall due to gov't support: former BES chairman  • 1st LD: ECB raises ELA for Greek banks by 900 mln euros  • Pakistan says border escalations not affect Ufa summit's decisions  • Spotlight: "Xinhua Silk Road" information products lauded by Belt and Road countries  • Feature: Chinese opera at home in Italy  • 1st LD: Mastermind of Garissa massacre among 4 Al-Shabaab leaders killed in drone strike  • Iran ambassador welcomes China's continued participation in nuclear deal  • Urgent: ECB chief says to raise emergency funding to Greece by 900 mln euros  
You are here: 　 Home

EU boosts humanitarian support for Syria crisis by 64 mln euros

Xinhua, July 16, 2015 Adjust font size:

The European Union (EU) on Thursday announced it would increase its humanitarian response to the Syria crisis by providing an additional 64 million euros (about 70 million U.S. dollars) in aid.

According to a European Commission press release, the new funding came amid growing concerns over the worsening humanitarian situation in the area, with further large-scale displacements of people across Syria and to neighboring countries.

This additional support will bring relief in the areas of health, food, water, sanitation and protection to the people in need both inside Syria and in the nearby countries hosting Syrian refugees.

"The humanitarian situation is going from bad to worse as fighting has intensified in the absence of a political solution. This additional funding will provide much-needed assistance to the people in need. But far more will be needed given the scale of the crisis," said Christos Stylianides, EU Commissioner for humanitarian aid and crisis management.

According to the European Commission, the new funding is part of the 200 million euros pledged from the EU's humanitarian budget at the Kuwait pledging conference in the beginning of 2015. Together, the EU institutions and member states pledged close to 1.1 billion euros.

The EU and its member states have so far mobilized 3.7 billion euros to respond to the growing shortages caused by the conflict in Syria, said the European Commission. (1 euro = 1.09 U.S. dollars) Endit