WASHINGTON, March 16 (KUNA) -- The US on Monday called on donor nations from The Second International Humanitarian Pledging Conference for Syria, held in Kuwait in January 2014, to act on their pledges and provide the necessary funding.
As of November 2014, more than a quarter of the pledges made at the meeting were not delivered, according to a report released by the research group Global Humanitarian Assistance.
State Department spokesperson Jen Psaki told reporters on Monday, however, that "80 percent of the pledges for Kuwait II (of USD 2.4 billion) were met.
"While that's encouraging, we urge all donors to follow through on their commitments as soon as possible," she said. "The needs both in Syria and throughout the region are staggering and there's no time to lose. And clearly, pledging is one thing ... Delivering on that pledge is what actually can make a difference." The Obama Administration will "only announce funding that has been committed," she added, "So there's never any question about whether we'll follow through. It's already money that's been committed." The US pledged USD 380 million at Kuwait II.
Kuwait hosted the first and second aid pledging conferences for Syria in 2013 and 2014. The two conferences were successful and raised USD 3.9 billion in aid pledges, USD 1.5 billion in the first and USD 2.4 billion in the second. Kuwait donated at total of USD 800 million in the two conferences, USD 300 million in the first and USD 500 in the second. (end) ys.bs