EU strengthens its Syria crisis response through additional funding to UNICEF

With an additional EUR90 million support from the EU Regional Trust Fund in response to the Syrian Crisis, the EU is enabling United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) to provide critical services and support to Syrian refugee and host community children and young people in Jordan, Lebanon and Turkey.

The additional EU funding was signed today by EU Commissioner Johannes Hahn and UNICEF Executive Director Anthony Lake. This latest contribution brings the total funding from the EU Trust Fund for UNICEF's work on the Syria crisis response to nearly EUR200 million.

As families around the world prepare for the return to school, the European Union (EU) has renewed its commitment to get children affected by the war in Syria into education. This EUR90 million support is provided by the EU Regional Trust Fund in response to the Syrian Crisis and will enable UNICEF to provide critical education and protection services to Syrian refugee and host community children in Jordan, Lebanon and Turkey, so that they can attend school and learn.

"I cannot stress enough the importance of promoting and providing access to quality education for children and young people in all countries affected by the Syrian crisis", said Johannes Hahn, EU Commissioner for European Neighbourhood Policy and Enlargement Negotiations during the signing ceremony. "This is about creating hope, and doing what we can to ensure there is no 'lost generation'. Thanks to our EU-UNICEF cooperation children in Jordan, Lebanon and Turkey are able to go to school and have access to safe spaces for non-formal education, protection and psycho-social care".

With the conflict now in its seventh year, around 2 million children from Syria live as refugees in Jordan, Lebanon and Turkey, adding pressure on already stretched host communities and their administrations.