UN announces biggest ever appeal: £4bn in aid for Syria

Following a new study claiming that starvation threatens the Syrian population, the United Nations are now seeking £4bn for humanitarian aid to Syria

13:36 17 December 2013

A new study conducted by the International Rescue Committee has warned that starvation is now threatening the Syrian population. It added that four out of five Syrians said that their greatest worry was that the food will run out. The release of this study coincided with the announcement of UN’s biggest ever appeal seeking £4bn for humanitarian aid for the nation.

In total, the UN is asking for almost $13bn. $2.3bn will be spent for civilians inside the country while $4.2bn will go to Syrian refugees in neighbouring countries.

UN High Commissioner for Refugees Antonio Guterres, said: "We're facing a terrifying situation here where, by the end of 2014, substantially more of the population of Syria could be displaced or in need of humanitarian help than not.”

"This goes beyond anything we have seen in many, many years, and makes the need for a political solution all the much greater."

Ms Amos said UN officials would "explore exactly what the means in terms of our ability to go to the hard-to-reach areas and the besieged areas".