LOC22:49
19:49 GMT
NEW YORK, Dec 12 (KUNA) -- The UN and its partners have launched USD 4.4 billion plan to support what one senior United Nations official on Tuesday described as "a lost generation" of Syrian refugees caught up in the ongoing conflict.
Majority of Syrian refugee families and many people of host countries are living below poverty line and facing difficulty to meet their basic needs, the UN High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) and UN Development Programme said in a joint statement.
The plan aims to address challenges through mobilizing efforts of about 270 partners working in developmental and humanitarian affairs to support activities and ensure the delivery of necessary humanitarian aid to the refugees.
Well over five million Syrians need help, said Amin Awad, Director for the Middle East and North Africa of the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).
He suggested that about four million people in countries neighboring Syria including Lebanon, Jordan and Iraq also need relief after years spent supporting those displaced since fighting began in 2011.
"Syria remain uncontested the biggest humanitarian crisis of out time. Seven million inside plus 5.3 million outside; 12.3 million people. Another 10 million who stayed put in Syria did not leave their homes but they are cut off," he said.
For his part, Mourad Wahba, Director of the UNDP Regional Bureau for Arab States, stressed the need to recognize the tremendous efforts made by countries and communities hosting refugees from Syria, providing vital and generous support even while facing their own challenges.
He added that partners are pioneers in strengthening the link between humanitarian and development interventions.
He noted that these interventions meet immediate humanitarian needs, while boosting livelihoods, expanding access to critical infrastructure and fostering community development in the longer term.
He called on the international community to continue its highest-level support for this coherent approach. (end)
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