USD11 billion in aid pledges to refugees from Syria while Lebanon’s share remains undermined

The international conference of donor which was convened in London yesterday pledged some USD11 billion for humanitarian needs to refugees from Syria to be released in two batches over a period of 4 years. Over half total aid is allocated for this year and the rest for the period 2017-2020 and will be earmarked first to direct assistance and secondly to better integrate the displaced in the host neighboring countries through the provision of food, education, medical support and job creation. Britain which co-hosted the conference was the first to pledge with a top-up of GBP 1.2 billion to be fully disbursed by the year 2020, increasing its total current contribution to GBP 2.3 billion. For its part Norway pledged USD1.17 billion over the next 4 years, Germany USD2.57 billion, the European Union USD3.36 billion and the United States USD 890 million. Except for Kuwait, the other countries of the Arab Gulf states were the last on the list of donors. Regarding the pledges made, the British Prime Minister, David Cameron, confirmed that the amount allocated for this year, does not meet the UN call for USD 7.73 billion, which was launched to cover direct aid, in addition to the USD 1.23 billion earmarked as aid to host countries of the region. In conclusion Cameron added at the end of the conference, “today we promised, but we need to see the money”. 

As for Lebanon, it was not clear what his share of the pledges would be. In this respect, a Lebanese delegation source disclosed that this will be decided after studying the working paper submitted by the Lebanese government. At the end of the conference, Prime Minister Tamam Salam said, “We are all satisfied with the outcome and the pledge of nearly USD11 billion, adding: “it seems it is the first time that financial pledges reach this high level”. (As Safir, An Nahar, Al Akhbar, Al Mustaqbal, February 5, 2016)