Arab News Japan

TOKYO: Syria has been granted aid worth 744.55 million yen ($5 million) following a meeting in Geneva on Thursday between OIKE Atsuyuki, the Permanent Representative of the Japanese Government to International Organizations in Geneva, and Filippo Grandi, United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).

According to the Foreign Ministry in Tokyo, the aid is listed as “Emergency Response Plan for Displaced Persons (in collaboration with UNHCR)” and will provide family tents to residents of displaced persons camps affected by the Syrian crisis in Hasakeh, Deir Ezzor, and Raqqa governorates in northeastern Syria to ensure a safe living environment. It is hoped that this will contribute to improving the humanitarian situation in the country.

Nearly 13 years have passed since the Syrian crisis broke out in March 2011, and it is estimated that 16.7 million people in Syria are currently in need of humanitarian assistance, an increase of 1.4 million from the previous year. 

While the humanitarian situation was deteriorating, in February 2023, an earthquake occurred with its epicenter in southeastern Turkey. Syria also suffered severe damage. As a result of the international community’s aid mainly going to disaster-stricken areas, humanitarian aid to non-disaster-affected areas has been delayed.