The Diplomat
The Spanish government has pledged to support the most vulnerable populations in Syria and in countries hosting refugees from Syria with seven million euros.
This was announced yesterday by the head of the Humanitarian Action Office of the Spanish Agency for International Development Cooperation (AECID), Cristina Gutiérrez, during her participation in the VI Conference on Supporting the Future of Syria and the Region, organized by the European Union.
The Syrian conflict, which began eleven years ago, has generated the largest refugee crisis in the world. More than ten million people are in need of support, including more than 5.6 million Syrian refugees registered last October by the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR) in Lebanon, Jordan, Turkey and Iraq. In addition, the crisis also affects 4.8 million inhabitants of host communities.
According to AECID, Spanish Humanitarian Action has provided support to the Syrian population in recent years, both in the country itself and in the countries of the region, and has been increasing its support as humanitarian needs have grown. In 2021, Spain pledged €6.6 million at the 5th Donors’ Conference for the crisis in Syria and the region. Finally, Spain contributed €9.4 million through AECID, which, adding the contributions of the autonomous communities, brought the total contribution to €15.5 million by the end of the year.
In total, between 2012 and 2021 Spain has contributed more than 90 million euros in humanitarian aid to the region. Of this, almost 41 million has gone to Syria. In addition, Spain has contributed 229 million euros to the European Union Facility for the Refugee Population in Turkey in the period 2019-2023. This meant, in 2022, a disbursement of €13.1 million earmarked for the Syrian refugee population in Turkey and the host population.
The European Union Facility for the Refugee Population in Turkey is a joint coordination mechanism that manages a total of €6 billion and is designed to ensure that the needs of refugees and host communities in Turkey are addressed in a comprehensive and coordinated manner. The Fund focuses on humanitarian assistance, education, migration management, health, municipal infrastructure and socio-economic support.
AECID works, also with the EU, and in line with the UN Syria response plans, has contributed €3 million to the European Union’s regional Trust Fund for the Syria crisis (formerly Madad Fund). Since 2011, the European Union and its member states have been the largest donors of humanitarian and resilience aid to Syria and the region, contributing €27.4 billion in response to the Syrian crisis.
