International Development Secretary Justine Greening today told the UN’s Second International Humanitarian Pledging conference in Kuwait that the UK’s latest humanitarian aid commitment reflected the ‘deep concern’ of Britain towards the worsening plight of the Syrian people, nearly three years after conflict broke out.  

The government has now committed over £600m to the crisis which was ‘three times more its response to any other humanitarian’ disaster, Greening said.

‘The world cannot ignore what is happening to the Syrian people. Britain is determined to play its role in helping the 11 million Syrians who continue to suffer as a result of this crisis. As the situation grows worse the international community needs to make sure the UN has the resources it needs to help these people.

‘The scale of suffering that this crisis has caused is hard to exaggerate. Women and children are vulnerable to brutal violence and some have lost everything.’

Other donors who pledged support at the conference included the US and Kuwait, promising $380m and $500m respectively. Saudi Arabia and Qatar each pledged $60m. The conference aims to secure $6.5bn in humanitarian aid for Syria.