UN says funds for Syrian refugees running out....

UN Fund calls for more money to run aid programmes in Jordan and other countries warning finances could run out by June.

The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) has warned that it will soon run out of money to cope with the vast needs of internally displaced Syrians as well as refugees in neighbouring countries.

UNICEF said on Friday that it would run out of money by June for its operations in Jordan - where it provides water sanitation and hygiene services to about 100,000 refugees living in Zaatari camp.

Marixie Mercado, the UNICEF spokeswoman, said: "The needs are rising exponentially, and we are broke."

"We have received about 29 percent of the money we need to be able to sustain our operations inside Syria and in neighbouring countries," Ted Chaiban, UNICEF Director of Emergency Operations, told Al Jazeera.

In the case of Zaatari camp, if UNICEF programmes cease functioning, the population will no longer have access to clean water or hygiene facilities.

"Then you will see skin diseases, diarrhoea and dramatic consequences for children," Chaiban said.

The number of Syrian refugees in Jordan is approaching half a million.

The UN is predicting that the number of Syrian refugees in Jordan will more than double to 1.2 million by the end of this year.

UNICEF also works inside Syria with the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) to provide support to urban water systems that allows continued access to water in major cities.

In addition, the aid group runs an immunisation campaign for the increasing number of internally-displaced people that provides life-saving measles and polio vaccinations to three milllion children.

"If you stop immunisations, you have the kind of measles outbreak we saw in Lebanon recently. And measles plus malnutrition can lead to children dying. These are profound consequences," Chaiban told Al Jazeera.

Source:

Al Jazeera And Agencies