Syria: Funding Gaps and Rising Winter Needs - OCHA to Security Council | United Nations

Security Council Briefing by Lisa Doughten, Director of Financing and Outreach Division, Office of the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), on the humanitarian situation in Syria OCHA’s Lisa Doughten spoke on behalf of Tom Fletcher, the Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator. Doughten said, “We continue to prioritize the response in Suweida and neighbouring governorates, working with Syrian authorities and affected communities to provide assistance and basic services.” She added, “We have reached 357,000 people per month, sending over 1,300 aid trucks and working with a range of partners, including 25 national NGOs.” The OCHA official also noted that more than 1.2 million refugees have now returned from neighbouring countries since last December. More than 1.9 million people who were displaced internally have also returned. “But these people still need support to reestablish their lives, including – in the immediate term – humanitarian aid,” Doughten emphasized. On funding, the OCHA official stressed, “with just over a month left in the year, our Syria appeal is only 26 per cent funded, leading to continued gaps and reductions in critical assistance.” “Our partners are currently seeking to assist 2 million vulnerable people with winter supplies, including heating fuel and stoves, winter clothing, blankets and other household items. But just 12 per cent of the funding has been mobilized,” she added.


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