UK pledges to double aid to Syria
The government has said it will donate £50 million in new funding to deal with the humanitarian disaster fuelled by the crisis in Syria.
Today's announcement comes days after the government pledged £21 million to help Syrian refugees in Jordan.
Read More: UK aid for Syrian refugees
The £71 million promised this week, combined with £68.5 million in existing funding, means the UK is now providing £139.5 million. The International Development Secretary urged other donors to follow:
– Justine Greening, International Development SecretaryI saw for myself the human cost of this conflict and the massive effort by NGOs to deal with huge numbers of refugees.
Warm words alone won’t help those without food, medicine or shelter. The UK has more than doubled its funding in the last five days as the level of need spirals - but international donors must now dig deep in Kuwait with the funding needed to save lives and assist neighbouring countries which are having to cope with huge numbers of refugees
The UN's Syria appeal is its biggest ever short-term appeal. It says it needs $1.5 billion to help people displaced by the conflict.
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