Switzerland pledges CHF60 million humanitarian aid to Syria
Switzerland has pledged another CHF60 million ($67 million) in humanitarian aid to conflict torn Syria to add to the CHF8.5 million already allocated to help the country recover from an earthquake earlier this year.
Some 5.3 million people in Syria are dependent on humanitarian aid, a figure that has risen from 14.6 million a year ago. Their plight was made worse by a devastating earthquake that struck the Middle East country in February.
There are currently more displaced people in Syria (6.8 million) than in any other country in the world. In addition, 5.4 million refugees are crowded into neighbouring Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon and Turkey.
The Swiss funding will cover aid both in Syria and countries that have accepted refugees.
“The Swiss portfolio includes emergency aid projects as well as those aimed at protecting civilians and strengthening the resilience of the population,” the government announced.
Switzerland’s latest tranche of support was announced on Thursday at the Seventh Brussels Conference on ‘Supporting the future of Syria and the region’, organised by the European Union.
More than 300 people from Syria and Turkey were accepted into Switzerland under a temporary fast-track visa system following the earthquake earlier this year.
In compliance with the JTI standards
More: SWI swissinfo.ch certified by the Journalism Trust Initiative
You can find an overview of ongoing debates with our journalists here . Please join us!
If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.