International donors have pledged just under four-and-a-half billion U.S. dollars in humanitarian aid for Syrians affected by the country's civil war.
The amount falls far short of what the UN was seeking.
Ro Aram has more.
The four-point-four billion U.S. dollars pledged is not the exactly the eight billion the head of the UN aid agency was looking for.
Mark Lowcock made his plea at a donor conference in Brussels, which was attended by officials from both the UN and the EU.
He had warned that certain aid programs would have to be cut back if funds weren't forthcoming.
Despite falling well short of the amount hoped for, Lowcock said it was a good start and thanked the donors.
"I want particularly to thank the EU, Germany and the United Kingdom who've made exceptionally large pledges today. I want also to note that beyond 2018, we've had or are expecting during the course of the day, pledges amounting to some 3.3 billion (b) dollars for 2019 and onwards…"
He also noted that a few other large players, including the United States, have not yet confirmed their financing for this year due to internal budgetary discussions.
He said the U.S. has been providing more than a billion dollars a year in humanitarian assistance to Syria and the region over recent years.
However, it remains to be seen if that will continue under the Trump administration, as there is still some confusion over Washington's position in Syria.
The UN aid agency is in desperate need to raise funds for the dire situation in the Middle Eastern nation, but has only managed to collect half of the money needed over the past couple of years.
According to the UN, more than six million people are now internally displaced in Syria, more than five million have fled the country and 13 million including six million children are in need of aid.
Meanwhile the conference was also a platform for EU officials to urge for UN-led peace talks in Geneva to restart.
The previous eight rounds of talks aimed at ending the Syrian war have gained little steam.
EU diplomatic chief Federica Mogherini once again urged Russia and Iran to pressure their ally Damascus to engage in the negotiations.
Ro Aram, Arirang News.
