International Olympic Committee announces emergency US$2 million fund to help refugees
Money has been made available immediately for National Olympic Committee programmes focused on refugees
The IOC works in partnership with the UNHCR to promote sports programmes for refugees (Getty Images)
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) announced this Friday (4 September) plans to make a US$2 million fund available immediately for sports projects amidst the growing refugee crisis in the Middle East, Africa and Europe.
Speaking about the fund, IOC President Thomas Bach said: “We have all been touched by the terrible news and the heartbreaking stories in the past few days. With this terrible crisis unfolding across the Middle East, Africa and Europe, sport and the Olympic Movement wanted to play its part in bringing humanitarian help to the refugees. We made a quick decision that we needed to take action and to make this fund available immediately.”
Bach highlighted the valuable role that sport can play in easing the plight of refugees. The IOC has been working in partnership with the UNCHR (the United Nations’ Refugee Agency) over the last two decades on sports programmes that have helped thousands of refugees around the world.
National Olympic Committees (NOCs) and other interested parties have been asked to submit applications for projects to help refugees. “Because of the nature of the crisis, the assessment of projects and the distribution of funds will be carried out extremely quickly. We are able to work on the ground with our partners in the National Olympic Committees and the expert agencies to get help to where it is needed most urgently,” explained Bach.
The fund itself is comprised of $1 million from the IOC and a further $1 million from Olympic Solidarity – an organisation set up to support NOCs.
