Broken promises on
pledges for refugee aid

Only eight percent of required

funding has been received

The international community is falling behind in its pledge to help secure more than $2 billion in funding to cover projects that aid Syrian refugees and vulnerable host communities. The UN’s Inter-Agency Coordination Office (UN-IAC) said out of the appeal for $2.75 billion in funding requirements for 2017, only eight percent has, up to the end of March, so far been received.

Food security received the highest allocation, with $49 million, followed by education.

The energy sector, which was designated as a separate sector for the first time since international assistance for the country began, has yet to receive any funds.

Earlier this year, a study by the UNDP and the Ministry of Energy and Water showed that Syrian refugees consume energy the equivalent of a power plant with the capacity to generate 486 megawatts.

The second biggest funding gap is in cash transfer assistance, which requires more than $550 million, the largest funding of all categories.

For 2016, UN-IAC received 45 percent of the amount requested, equalling $1.12 billion. Child protection received all of the required allocation ($48 million), followed by the education sector (65 percent or $253 million).

Prior to an international conference in Brussels to raise funds for affected countries, Prime Minister Saad Hariri had said: “If the international community does not invest in our country, we will be obliged to take steps so that they find another place.”

He said the international community has to invest $10-$12 billion over seven years in infrastructure.

	Appealed ($ million)	Received ($ million)	Gap (%)
Basic assistance	572	22	96
Food security	507	49	90
Education	373	32	91
Health	308	19	94
Water	280	30	89
Livelihoods	196	18	91
Protection	164	29	82
Shelter	129	23	82
Social stability	124	8	94
Energy	99	0.05	99

Source: United Nations
*As of March 31, 2017