OXFAM hails Kuwait for honoring pledges to aid Syrians

The renowned international charity, Oxfam, has praised Kuwait for honoring its obligations to aid refugees and displaced people of Syria, currently totally estimated at some seven million. The London-based organization said in a statement on Thursday that Kuwait was the first among nations that totally paid pledged financial contributions to the Syrians in need for help, noting that other donor states, namely France, Qatar and Russia, paid less than half of the promised sums, but other countries totally failed to do so. A third of member states of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), which comprises the world wealthiest nations, paid less than half of the expected contributions, it elaborated. Japan, for example, gave 17 percent of the pledged share, South Korea, two percent, but the US presented up to 64 percent of its promised donation. OXFAM called upon donor states, due to meet in New York ON September 25, to seek to give greater help to 750,000 Syrians who took up refuge in Lebanon. The UN has called on wealthy nations to earmark a total of USD five billion to aid the Syrians. However, only 44 percent of this sum has been collected.