(Amman, 9 December 2018): The United Nations today commenced a one-off exceptional aid delivery of much needed lifesaving assistance to hundreds of thousands of women, children and men in Syria from Jordan.

Some 369 trucks carrying over 11,200 metric tonnes of multi-sectoral assistance for over 650,000 people worth one-month of supplies will be involved in the four-week operation at the Jaber/Nassib crossing. Six UN agencies and one international NGO are participating in the back-to-back transshipment delivery.

“This is a major logistical operation in an effort to mitigate the suffering of the Syrian people,” Anders Pedersen, UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator in Jordan, said. “We greatly appreciate the cooperation of the Jordanian authorities for their full support and commitment in making this a reality.”

The last cross border operation to Syria from Jordan under the UN Resolution 2393 was on 25 June. With the Government of Syria retaking control of its southern border in July, this exceptional aid delivery is outside the mandate of that resolution.

The immediate needs of Syrians include food, shelter, water, medical care, livelihood and sanitation. “We are working closely with our UN partners inside Syria to ensure this assistance reaches those who need it most,” Pedersen said.

Across Syria, humanitarian actors, including UN agencies and NGOs, are doing everything they can to reach some 13 million people in need, including some 6.2 million internally displaced persons, wherever they are, in both government and nongovernment controlled areas, in line with humanitarian principles of neutrality, impartiality, and the humanitarian imperative to save lives.

For further information, please contact:

David Swanson

OCHA Public Information Officer,

swanson@un.org Tel: +962 (0) 791 417 882

Nora Isayan,

Communication Analyst, Office of the UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator in Jordan,

nora.isayan@one.un.org Tel: +962 (0) 795 392 926