USD 2.4 billion pledged for war-ravaged Syria, UN says

Kuwait City: A fundraising conference in Kuwait generated at least USD 2.4 billion in pledges today from international donors to alleviate the suffering of Syrians affected by their country`s civil war, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said.

Kuwait, the United States and other donor nations had promised more than USD 1.2 billion of new funding early in the day as the conference started. Aid officials hope the drive will help cover the billions of dollars needed this year. Millions of Syrians have been driven from their homes as a result of the crisis, now in its third year, and getting aid to many of those in need remains a challenge because they remain trapped in communities besieged by the fighting. The United Nations is asking for a staggering USD 6.5 billion this year to help Syrians affected by the war, its largest-ever funding appeal for a single crisis. Officials did not expect to raise the entire amount in Kuwait but do hope the gathering focuses greater international attention on the conflict. "The fighting has set Syria back by years, even decades," the UN`s Ban said at the start of the event at the lavish Bayan Palace in the Kuwaiti capital. Ban said humanitarian and development agencies "face unprecedented demands" because of the crisis, and that it "is vital ... The burden be shared" in helping meet Syria`s growing aid needs. Kuwait`s emir, Sheik Sabah Al Ahmad Al Sabah, opened the conference by pledging USD 500 million, significantly topping the OPEC member nation`s pledge of USD 300 million last year. He pressed the UN Security Council to exert greater effort in bringing an end to the crisis, and urged all those fighting in Syria to "put the fate of their country and the safety of their people above all other considerations." Kuwait`s Gulf neighbor Saudi Arabia promised an additional USD 60 million, saying that would boost its existing round of funding to a total USD 250 million, though it did not specify the time period. It promised USD 300 million at last year`s conference. Nearby Qatar also promised USD 60 million today. US Secretary of State John Kerry said the US pledge of USD 380 million will bring brings America`s humanitarian aid contribution to Syrian victims to USD 1.7 billion since the war began.