IKEA Foundation donates €9.4 million to help families in Syria
Melanie May | 17 March 2016 | News
The IKEA Foundation has given €9.4 million to support the work of Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) and Save the Children in Syria and its neighbouring countries.
It has donated €5.7 million to MSF to fund emergency medical aid to children and families in Syria, and to Syrian refugees and vulnerable people in Lebanon and Iraq. The money will pay for essential healthcare, mental health services for children in particular, and training medical workers.
A €3.7 million grant has gone to Save the Children to support its work in strengthening and training 17 local partner organisations in Syria to increase the protection of vulnerable children and provide basic services such as healthcare and education.
Jonathan Spampinato, head of strategic planning for the IKEA Foundation, said:
“A generation of children in Syria are losing their childhoods, as the conflict disrupts every part of their daily lives. The work of organisations like MSF and Save the Children is essential in protecting and supporting Syria’s children, offering them – and the nation – hope for a better future when the conflict ends.”
Last month, the IKEA Foundation also teamed up with the UN Refugee Agency and What Design Can Do to launch a competition challenging designers and creative thinkers to find new ways to support urban refugees.
The five best entries will receive up to €10,000 each, along with help to develop their concepts into feasible plans. Both new ideas and existing concepts that need development are eligible, and the competition is open to all. Further information can be found here: http://www.whatdesigncando.com/challenge/process/ The deadline for applications is 1st May.
Advertisement
About Melanie May
Melanie May is a journalist and copywriter specialising in writing both for and about the charity and marketing services sectors since 2001. She can be reached via thepurplepim.com.