The Future is Equal

Syria fair share

Oxfam’s analysis of donor country’s contributions to help the Syria crisis is based on the UN launching a US$5 billion appeal for Syria in June. To date, that appeal is just 44 per cent funded. Oxfam calculated what would be the fair share of that US$5 billion for donor countries based on their GNI and overall wealth. According to these calculations, New Zealand’s fair share would be US$10.8 million (NZ$12.89 million).

Oxfam’s analysis of donor country’s contributions to help the Syria crisis is based on the UN launching a US$5 billion appeal for Syria in June. To date, that appeal is just 44 per cent funded. Oxfam calculated what would be the fair share of that US$5 billion for donor countries based on their GNI and overall wealth. According to these calculations, New Zealand’s fair share would be US$10.8 million (NZ$12.89 million).

The fair share analysis only looked at bilateral funding through the OECD Development Assistance Committee (DAC) and multi-lateral funding through the UN Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF) and the European Commission Humanitarian Aid and Civil Protection (ECHO). As such, it does not include funding that the New Zealand government has contributed through other channels such as the World Food Programme or the International Committee of the Red Cross. In total, the New Zealand Government has contributed NZ$5.46 million to meet humanitarian needs in Syria.

The fact remains that the scale of the international humanitarian response does not yet come close to the scale of the crisis. Millions of Syrians need more support from governments and people around the world.

To date, Oxfam New Zealand’s Syria Appeal has raised just under NZ$32,000. New Zealanders are encouraged to help refugees with safe water, toilets and shelter by making a donation.