Press release, April 6, 2022
The National Council of the Istituto Buddista Italiano Soka Gakkai has approved the proposal of the 8×1000 Commission to allocate a million euro for the ongoing humanitarian emergencies. 600,000 euro will be used for the emergency in Ukraine, while 200,000 euro for Syria and another 200,000 for Yemen.
The Commission is working to identify the first recipients of the intervention in Ukraine providing initial reception, psychological support, essential goods, support to school-aged children and human corridors.
The intervention in Syria aims at giving a contribution to those 14.6 million Syrians that are in need of humanitarian assistance, out of a population of 17 million. In Syria almost 90% of the population lives below the poverty threshold, while more than 1/3 live in extreme poverty and every day face a ceaseless struggle to survive. The sharp increase in food costs has led to food insecurity for millions of Syrians, as they don’t know how to guarantee the next meal to their children.
After 7 years of war in Yemen, we are facing one of the worst humanitarian crises ever: more than 2 million children under the age of 5 suffer from acute malnutrition, and 20.7 million refugees are fleeing from violence. The Istituto has decided to contribute to alleviating the pain of those who suffer every day the worst consequences of this never-ending war.