Humanitarian operations scaled up in Syria
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John Ging speaking to journalists
Humanitarian operations are being scaled up in Syria where the ongoing conflict has displaced hundreds of thousands of people and forced others to flee to neighbouring countries.
Following a humanitarian forum on Syria held in Geneva on Friday, the UN and its humanitarian partners say the scale of the crisis is escalating and humanitarian needs are growing.
John Ging, the Director of Operations at the UN humanitarian agency (OCHA), says that since the last forum, a little over six weeks ago, the numbers in need of humanitarian assistance has doubled.
"It's now standing at two-and-a-half million people in need, 1.2 million people have been displaced inside Syria. One million of those are now temporarily sheltered in schools and other public buildings. Since the last forum the numbers who have fled Syria and sought refuge in the neighbouring countries is now above 245,000 officially registered with UNHCR." (Duration: 26")
The Untied Nations has revised funding needs for the response to the crisis in Syria from the initial $187 million to $347 million.
