EU secures more funds for Syrian refugees

AMMAN — The European Union (EU) announced an additional 64 million euros in humanitarian assistance for Syrians on Thursday to be used to assist those displaced in Syria and taking refuge in host countries, including Jordan, according to the Jordan News Agency, Petra.

The number of registered Syrian refugees amounts to 600,000 while the overall number of Syrians in Jordan is put at 1.5 million, placing immense pressure on Jordan's limited resources and infrastructure, officials have asserted.  

In a statement issued from Brussels, the EU said that the deteriorating humanitarian conditions are taking a heavy toll on more people, pointing out that the additional funding will provide vital support in the fields of health, food, water and sanitation. 

It will help those who badly need assistance in Syria and in neighbouring refugee-host countries, especially as the new funds come amid increasing concerns that the humanitarian conditions of Syrians and Syrian refugees might further deteriorate due to increasing internal and external displacement, the EU statement said. 

EU Humanitarian Aid and Crisis Response Commissioner Christos Stylianides was quoted in the statement as saying that the refugees’ humanitarian situation is going from bad to worse due to intense fighting and absence of a political solution. 

Since the beginning of the conflict in Syria, 4 million Syrians have fled to neighbouring countries, while millions are displaced within Syria and are also in need for help.

So far, the EU and its member states have provided 3.7 billion euros in response to the increasing humanitarian needs resulting from the conflict in Syria, according to Petra.