Maintaining its steadfast commitment to getting lifesaving support to the people of Syria impacted by conflict wherever they are, the United States today announced more than $697 million in additional humanitarian assistance. State Department Bureau of Population, Migration, and Refugees Acting Assistant Secretary Simon Henshaw made this announcement at the UN General Assembly. It brings U.S. humanitarian assistance to nearly $7.4 billion since the start of the Syria crisis in 2011. This assistance reflects the continued generosity of the American people and demonstrates steadfast U.S. commitment to helping address the unprecedented magnitude of suffering and urgent humanitarian needs.

U.S. humanitarian assistance supports the operations of the United Nations, other international organizations, and non-governmental organizations operating across the region. Through this support, the United States will continue to provide emergency food, shelter, safe drinking water, urgent medical care, humanitarian protection activities, and other urgent relief to help the 13.5 million people suffering inside Syria, throughout all 14 governorates in Syria — ultimately saving lives and alleviating human suffering amid daily threats of violence and deprivation.

The new funding also helps mitigate the impact of the crisis on governments and communities throughout the region that are straining to cope as they continue to generously host five million refugees from Syria.

U.S. Humanitarian Assistance for the Syria Crisis, By Country

INSIDE SYRIA: Nearly $516 million

New total since the start of the crisis: Nearly $3.8 billion

The humanitarian needs inside Syria continue to outpace the international response. As the largest single donor to the humanitarian response, U.S. humanitarian assistance provides critical, lifesaving support to millions of displaced people or those unable to meet their basic needs in affected areas of Syria, including through operations across international borders and conflict lines. The additional U.S. contribution continues to support emergency food assistance, including monthly household food parcels, ready-to-eat rations, flour to bakeries, and food vouchers, which includes support for the Raqqa response. The contribution also supports emergency medical care, shelter assistance, and provision of safe drinking water, hygiene programs, and improved sanitation to those affected by the crisis, including refugee populations inside Syria. It also provides critical relief supplies and much-needed counseling and protection programs to help the most vulnerable, including children, women, persons with disabilities, and the elderly.

LEBANON: Nearly $29 million

New total since the start of the crisis: Nearly $1.6 billion

Today’s announcement provides additional support to both the more than one million refugees from Syria living in Lebanon and vulnerable Lebanese host communities. The additional U.S. funding supports basic assistance to refugees; food; health care— including life-saving hospital care and childhood vaccinations; shelter improvements to informal settlements and sub-standard shelters; and access to safe drinking water for Syrian refugees and Lebanese host communities. The funding also supports emergency and reconstructive surgeries for weapon-wounded patients, including young children, evacuated to Lebanese facilities.

JORDAN: Nearly $88 million

New total since the start of the crisis: More than $1 billion

U.S. funding, now surpassing the $1 billion mark since the start of the crisis, continues to support the 141,000 refugees from Syria living in camps, as well as the more than 500,000 non-camp refugees with cash assistance to meet basic needs such as rent, health care, food vouchers, and transportation. It supports efforts to enroll additional students in public school; psychosocial programs; and water and sanitation improvements that benefit refugees from Syria and Jordanians. In addition, U.S. funding supports refugee registration and information; access to work opportunities; and protection programs based in communities. U.S funding includes providing life-saving assistance for an estimated 50,000-60,000 Syrians stranded at the Jordanian border. This assistance also supports food vouchers for Syrian refugees.

TURKEY: $35 million

New total since the start of the crisis: Nearly $572 million

U.S. funding assists Turkey in addressing the humanitarian and protection needs of more than 3.1 million Syrian refugees in Turkish host communities and camps. Our funding includes basic assistance to refugees, support for psychosocial programs, and prevention and response to gender-based violence. U.S. assistance also provides essential commodities, including tents, blankets, and winter supplies, supports emergency food needs, builds additional schools, pays teachers’ stipends, and provides school supplies and school transportation for children. This funding supports health programming and accreditation for Syrian doctors, and expands livelihoods programming including vocational training. This assistance also supports emergency food needs among refugees living in camps.

IRAQ: $15 million

New total since the start of the crisis: Nearly $294 million

The Kurdistan Regional Government hosts 97 percent of Syrian refugees in Iraq. U.S. funding supports the repair and upgrade of shelters, the expansion and rehabilitation of schools, and improvements to water and sanitation systems in refugee and host communities, in addition to the management and maintenance of camps. Funding also supports psychosocial care, nutrition programs, and otherwise helps refugees meet their food needs, including through livelihoods programming.

EGYPT: $13 million

New total since the start of the crisis: More than $140 million

Our funding helps the 120,000 refugees from Syria meet their basic needs including food, healthcare and education; prevents and responds to sexual and gender-based violence and protects vulnerable children; and increases self-reliance and livelihood opportunities.

Regional Funding: $2 million

New total since the start of the crisis: Nearly $18 million

Funding Numbers by Country*

*Figures may not add to total due to rounding.

For further information, please contact PRMPress@state.gov.

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On behalf of the Government of the United States of America, congratulations to the people of Armenia on the 26th anniversary of your independence.

We commend the progress your country has made since independence and are proud of the work we have done together. We are committed to advancing democracy and promoting a robust and transparent economy in Armenia. We thank you for your dedication to regional stability and international peacekeeping operations. We greatly appreciate these endeavors toward building a more peaceful world.

Again, congratulations on your 26th year of independence. We look forward to many more years of continued friendship and partnership with Armenia and its people.

The Office of Website Management, Bureau of Public Affairs, manages this site as a portal for information from the U.S. State Department.
External links to other Internet sites should not be construed as an endorsement of the views or privacy policies contained therein.

From September 25 to October 31, seventeen international delegates and American sports sector mentors will take part in the annual U.S. Department of State and espnW Global Sports Mentoring Program (GSMP). In its sixth year, this program supports the U.S. Department of State’s global efforts to advance the rights and participation of women and girls through sports.

Working side-by-side with these emerging female leaders, senior executives in the American sports sector open their respective organizations as host sites while sharing personal entrepreneurial and management insights. During the mentorship, emerging global leaders develop business plans to support “sport for social change” initiatives in their home countries. These strategies allow communities at home and around the world to experience the benefits that come from cross-cultural relations and participation in sports, thereby creating more resilient and stable societies. In turn, the American mentors are enriched by new perspectives and an expanded domestic and international network.

The GSMP class of 2017 hails from Belgium, Bolivia, Brazil, China, France, India, Kosovo, Morocco, Nigeria, the Palestinian Territories, Peru, South Korea, Taiwan, Uganda, and Venezuela. This delegation will join the ranks of 82 global alumnae—Olympians, Paralympians, journalists, ministerial officials, civil society leaders, entrepreneurs, and sports administrators—from over 45 countries who are providing opportunities for thousands of individuals to become leaders on the field, in the boardroom, and in their schools and governments.

This year, U.S. mentors represent the following companies and organizations: America East, the Big East, Burton Snowboards, Eli Lilly & Company, ESPN, Fox Sports, Gatorade, Google, the NCAA, the National Hockey League (NHL), PGA of America, Saatchi & Saatchi LA, Under Armour, Spurs Sports & Entertainment, the University of Connecticut and the Women’s Sports Foundation. The GSMP is implemented in cooperation with the University of Tennessee’s Center for Sport, Peace, and Society.

Join the conversation on social media using the hashtag #EmpowerWomen. For more information, please contact the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs at ECA-Press@state.gov and ESPN’s Jane Bullock at Jane.Bullock@espn.com.

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The United States stands in solidarity with the people of Dominica and all those across the Caribbean region affected by the devastating impact of Hurricane Maria. The United States stands ready to work with you and our international partners to provide immediate disaster relief. We are in the process of coordinating the best possible package of assistance.

The recent natural disasters underscore our interconnectedness and the importance of strong partnership with the Caribbean. The Department of State has an ongoing Task Force working to determine the extent of the damages, to coordinate evacuation efforts, and to provide assistance to U.S. citizens in the affected countries. Our thoughts and prayers are with the people of the Caribbean region.

For more information on how the public can support disaster relief efforts, please go to the Center for International Disaster Information at www.cidi.org.

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The United States strongly opposes the Iraqi Kurdistan Regional Government’s referendum on independence, planned for September 25. All of Iraq’s neighbors, and virtually the entire international community, also oppose this referendum. The United States urges Iraqi Kurdish leaders to accept the alternative, which is a serious and sustained dialogue with the central government, facilitated by the United States and United Nations, and other partners, on all matters of concern, including the future of the Baghdad-Erbil relationship.

If this referendum is conducted, it is highly unlikely that there will be negotiations with Baghdad, and the above international offer of support for negotiations will be foreclosed.

The costs of proceeding with the referendum are high for all Iraqis, including Kurds. Already the referendum has negatively affected Defeat-ISIS coordination to dislodge ISIS from its remaining areas of control in Iraq. The decision to hold the referendum in disputed areas is especially de-stabilizing, raising tensions which ISIS and other extremist groups are now seeking to exploit. The status of disputed areas and their boundaries must be resolved through dialogue, in accordance with Iraq’s constitution, not by unilateral action or force.

Finally, the referendum may jeopardize Iraqi Kurdistan’s regional trade relations, and international assistance of all kinds, even though none of Iraq’s partners wish this to be the case. This is simply the reality of this very serious situation. In contrast, genuine dialogue, the alternative, which we urge Kurdish leaders to embrace, holds the promise of resolving a great many of Iraqi Kurds’ legitimate grievances, and establishing a new and constructive course for Baghdad-Erbil relations that benefit all the people of Iraq.

The Kurds can be proud already of what the referendum process has produced, including more Kurdish unity, reviving the Kurdish parliament for the first time in nearly two years, and placing important issues on the international stage, with partners and friends prepared to build on the spirit of cooperation seen between Iraqi Security Forces and Kurdish Peshmerga in the campaign against ISIS to help resolve outstanding issues. ‎Unfortunately, the referendum next week will jeopardize all of this momentum and more.

The referendum itself is now all the more unnecessary given the alternative path that has been prepared and endorsed by the United States and the international community.

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External links to other Internet sites should not be construed as an endorsement of the views or privacy policies contained therein.