THE Scottish Government will provide an extra £300,000 in humanitarian aid to help people affected by conflict in the Middle East, First Minister John Swinney has announced.
The money will go to the Disasters Emergency Committee appeal and two Scottish charities, the Scottish Catholic International Aid Fund (Sciaf) and the Mercy Corps, to help continue their efforts in Gaza, the West Bank, Lebanon and Syria.
While international aid is usually a reserved matter for Westminster, the Scottish Government established a £1 million yearly Humanitarian Assistance Fund in 2017 to help charities respond to emergencies around the world.
The announcement was made as MSPs held a debate on “the international situation” at Holyrood.
The First Minister, Swinney (below), said: “I’m pleased to announce a contribution of £240,000 through our Humanitarian Emergency Fund to the Disasters Emergency Committee’s appeal for the Middle East, along with £30,000 each for Scottish charities Sciaf and Mercy Corps for their responses in Lebanon and Syria.
“This is in addition to the £250,000 that we provided to this appeal last November and comes at a time when humanitarian needs continue to increase across Gaza, the West Bank, Lebanon and Syria.
“I believe that wherever we can, we do what is within our power to de-escalate and support recovery from disaster and conflict in our deeply interconnected world.
“Investing in the wellbeing of the international community is also an investment in our national wellbeing and security and I make no apology for doing so in these turbulent times.”
