UNICEF to receive €18 million from EU for Syrian crisis
UNICEF Executive Director Anthony Lake on Wednesday signed a major contribution agreement with the European Union for €18 million to deliver vitally needed aid to children directly affected by the Syrian crisis.
The European Union contribution will help UNICEF provide water, sanitation and hygiene to more than 4.2 million children; health care to approximately 700,000 children; and protection to some 4,000 children in Iraq, Jordan and Syria.
UNICEF and the EU’s Humanitarian Aid and Civil Protection Department (ECHO) work together in 16 of the 19 major humanitarian emergencies around the world. This new contract brings the total ECHO support to UNICEF to €23 million in 2013.
The agreement was signed in the sidelines of the United Nations Principals’ Meeting on the humanitarian situation in Syria, in the presence of José Manuel Barroso, President of the European Commission.
Earlier Lake addressed the joint session of the European Parliament’s Committees on Foreign Affairs and Development, outlining the impact the Syrian crisis was having on the children of Syria and on the region.
He noted that with 5.5 million children affected by the conflict, it was a matter touching on the future of Syria, as the country’s children were now being deprived of an education, of protection, necessary immunizations, and the chance to play and have a childhood.
Lake also held meetings with the organizer of the Principals’ Meeting, Kristalina Georgieva, European Commissioner for International Cooperation, Humanitarian Aid and Crisis Response, and with Andris Piebalgs, European Commissioner for Development.
Source: United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund
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