UK to allocate $43 million aid to Ukraine, Syria, East Africa

The UK has announced £36 million ($43 million) in UK humanitarian funding to help people in Ukraine, East Africa and Syria.

People whose lives have been upended by the Russian invasion of Ukraine, drought and food shortages in East Africa, and conflict in Syria will be among those to benefit from £36 million in UK humanitarian funding announced today, according to the statement by UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office. 

The announcement comes on United Nations’ World Humanitarian Day on August 19, as parts of the globe come under increasing strain from lasting effects of the pandemic, the increasing impact of climate change, and conflicts in Europe, Africa and the Middle East.

In Ukraine and Poland, where the majority of Ukrainians who have fled the conflict have travelled, £15 million ($17.9 million) in UK funding will support up to 200,000 of the most vulnerable impacted by Russia’s invasion. This includes children, older people and those with disabilities. International aid organisation Mercy Corps will work with grassroots civil society groups to provide emergency assistance to cover basic needs, including food, water and sanitation, psychological support and childcare services.

In East Africa, where severe food insecurity threatens over 48 million people, the UK has allocated an additional £14 million ($16.7 million) to the countries on the frontline of the world’s worst humanitarian crisis. This new spending, which will work immediately to save lives and prevent more people from experiencing famine-like conditions, includes: A £5 million ($6 million) boost to the UK Somalia programme, which is providing life-saving health, nutrition, food security and water and sanitation assistance to over half a million people in some of the most vulnerable families. £6 million ($7.15 million) for the Ethiopia Humanitarian Fund which will provide vital assistance to under-funded emergencies across Ethiopia, including drought and conflict-affected regions. £3 million ($3.6 million) in emergency humanitarian funding to the World Food Programme, Sudan, helping reach approximately 120,000 vulnerable people with food assistance.