- Increased support to provide
life-saving Search and Rescue and emergency relief operations in
North West Syria.
- At least an additional £3m funding,
bringing our total to £3.8m, will enable enhanced operational
capacity of the White Helmets (Syria Civil Defence)
- This will support recovery projects
including assessing building safety, reopening roads and
reconnecting utilities.
Given the magnitude of the earthquakes and difficulties in
accessing affected areas in North West Syria, the UK will be
providing The White Helmets with additional funding to aid their
major search-and-rescue operations. Over 2,500 White Helmets
volunteers are involved in the response across some 40
communities in northwest Syria.
Minister of State for the Middle East,
said:
“The White Helmets are playing a critical and
life-saving role in Syria in the most desperate circumstances
following the earthquakes.
“The UK is proud of our longstanding partnership with
them. The White Helmets, throughout the conflict, have
demonstrated unwavering commitment and dedication. This has
included saving over 115,000 lives and providing essential
services to more than four million Syrians.
“Our collective priority now is to ensure life-saving
assistance is given to those most in need. The White Helmets are
best placed to deliver this in North West
Syria.”
The UK is giving at least an additional £3m to aid the White
Helmets major search-and-rescue operations. This takes our total
funding to the White Helmets this week to £3.8m following the
announcement on 7 February by Lord Ahmad.
END
Note to Editors:
- We have already provided £2.25m of
support to the White Helmets in FY 2022-23 to sustain their core
operations, including tailored services for women and
girls. On 7 February, the UK released £0.8m funding to
reinforce existing support.
