Fact Sheet
Office of the Spokesperson
Washington, DC
August 2, 2012

The United States is pursuing every avenue to provide humanitarian relief to those affected by the violence in Syria and is engaged in focused diplomatic efforts to secure full and unfettered access for humanitarian organizations to reach those in need. The United States is providing more than $76 million this fiscal year in humanitarian assistance to help an estimated 500,000 people inside Syria, as well as the tens of thousands who have fled to neighboring countries to escape the violence. This assistance includes:

• $27.5 million to the World Food Program (WFP);
• $18.1 million to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR);
• $15.1 million to non-governmental organizations (NGOs);
• $8 million to the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC);
• $3 million to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA);
• $2.75 million to the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF);
• $1 million to the International Federation of the Red Cross (IFRC);
• $500,000 to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs; and
• $300,000 to the UN Department of Safety and Security for support of humanitarian operations.

The International Response:

Humanitarian assistance is distributed throughout the country to the most vulnerable through UN agencies and other international and local non-governmental organizations. The U.N. has appealed for $180 million to provide food, water, shelter, medical care, education, and psychosocial services to address the needs of those affected by the violence in Syria. The ICRC partners with the Syrian Arab Red Crescent (SARC) to access vulnerable populations in need. The SARC has an extensive network of staff in all 14 governorates in the country and since March 2011, five SARC staff members have been killed in Syria. MORE.