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KUWAIT, March 30 (KUNA) -- UN Under Secretary General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief coordinator Valerie Amos Monday thanked Kuwait for hosting the third International Pledging Humanitarian Conferecen for the Syrian people, due tomorrow.
Amos, addressing an international meeting of non-governmental organizations (NGOs), highlighted the plight of millions of Syrians who were either intrnally displaced or refugees in neighboring countries.
Amos said that millions of Syrians were in dire need of food, health and educational services as well as development assistance.
Amos underlined important role of NGOs in providing necessary needs for the Syrian people and raising public opinion regarding their plight.
She said all NGOs present in Kuwait today were partners in principles and values.
With the Syrian conflict entering its fifth year, she added, the international community was still witnessing atrocities committed against civilians while the Syrian government's failure to abide by relevant UN resolutions.
Amos said the rise of violence in Idlib last week forced displacement of hundreds of thousands of people, while there were around 5.6 million children suffering from the conflict among them over two million stopped going to schools.
Amos said 183 health facilities were destroyed in Syria over the past four years killing 600 medical workers.
She said that the number of people under siege was 440,000.
Hesham Yusuf, representative of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), said humanitarian operations inside Syria have become more complex and dangerous, with more than 600 relief workers killed.
"With the Syrian crisis entering its fifth year, more than 80 percent of people live under poverty line, and millions of children and youth lacking education," he said.
The Syrian conflict, added Yusuf, undermined the social fabric of the Syrian people.
He said neighboring countries have problems honoring the growing needs of the Syrian refugees. Syrian refugees, for example, make up one-third of the population in Lebanon. (pickup previous) kt.bs