Syria: Donors Must Address Aid Imbalance

PARIS/NEW YORK, JANUARY 29, 2013—International donors must support cross-border humanitarian operations in opposition-held areas in Syria, the international medical aid organization Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) said today, ahead of a major Syria donors conference in Kuwait City. International aid provided to Syria is not being distributed equitably between government- and opposition-controlled areas. Areas under government control receive nearly all international aid, while opposition-held zones receive only a tiny share. “The current aid system is unable to address the worsening living conditions facing people inside Syria,” said Dr. Marie-Pierre Allié, president of MSF. “The participants in the Kuwait City conference must acknowledge the legitimacy of cross-border humanitarian operations intended for Syria and grant them the financial, administrative, and logistical support they require.” Donors meeting in Kuwait City on January 30 have pledged $1.5 billion in humanitarian aid for victims of the Syrian conflict. However, aid operations to date have been implemented primarily from the capital city, Damascus, via the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and United Nations agencies working in partnership with the Syrian Red Crescent, the only organization authorized by the government to distribute assistance. As a result, only a fraction of international aid reaches opposition-held ar...
Source: MSF News - Category: Global & Universal Source Type: news