Promised aid funding for Syria reaches half-way point

DUBAI, 18 April 2013 (IRIN) - Nearly three months ago, donors pledged $1.5 billion in humanitarian aid for the Syrian crisis. Today, Kuwait announced the transfer of its pledge of $300 million to international aid agencies and with that, half of the pledges have been fulfilled. IRIN takes a look at the status of the remaining pledges made in Kuwait, as aid agencies threaten to suspend their work for lack of funding. full report

Syria’s brain drain – another twist to the country’s crisis

DUBAI, 26 March 2013 (IRIN) - The exodus of educated and skilled Syrians is increasingly depleting the country’s workforce and the quality of its health services, already strained by two years of conflict. IRIN spoke to professionals inside and outside Syria about the difficult choice they faced and the impacts of their decisions to stay or leave - both on themselves and their country. full report

Disaster Risk Reduction in the Arab world

AQABA, 20 March 2013 (IRIN) - Nearly 300 government officials, scientists, aid workers and activists from across the Arab world are working together in Jordan to draw up the first joint regional platform for disaster risk reduction (DRR). full report

Export oil, import water – the Middle East’s risky economics

DUBAI, 5 March 2013 (IRIN) - The world’s driest region, the Middle East and North Africa (MENA), is getting drier at an alarming rate. full report

Ten ways to develop southern Lebanon

TYRE, 15 February 2013 (IRIN) - For many residents of southern Lebanon, economic development in their region is a fool’s dream. The central government in Beirut, paralysed by political crisis, has done little to develop the peripheries of Lebanon, especially in the south, which is dominated by militant and political group Hezbollah. full report

Why southern Lebanon still matters

WAZZANI, 15 February 2013 (IRIN) - Southern Lebanon has been the scene of occupation and conflict for decades. Now, it is experiencing what might be the calmest period in its history. This provides a chance to finally sustainably develop the area and stabilize the border with Israel. But are donors, UN agencies and the government interested? full report

Lack of funds hits refugee health care in Lebanon

BEIRUT, 8 February 2013 (IRIN) - A new report by Médecins Sans Frontières paints an alarming picture of the living and health conditions of Syrian refugees in Lebanon. The Lebanese government and UN Refugee Agency say they are trying to scale up their assistance to hundreds of thousands of refugees but are hampered by a lack of funds. full report

Breakdown of Syria aid pledges in Kuwait

KUWAIT CITY, 1 February 2013 (IRIN) - The international community pledged more than US$1.5 billion in humanitarian aid to Syria on 30 January, in the most successful fundraising conference in UN history - meant to meet the needs of two UN appeals: full report

Donors pledge $1.5 billion in aid to Syria while demanding more access

KUWAIT CITY, 30 January 2013 (IRIN) - In the largest ever fundraising conference in UN history, the international community pledged today more than US$1.5 billion in humanitarian aid for the people of Syria. But donors said financial resources were not enough: they called for more humanitarian access and respect for the neutrality and safety of aid workers. full report