World leaders are gathering in London for a conference which aims to raise US$9 billion for Syrian civilians as their homeland enters its sixth year of brutal civil war.

Billed as a donor conference, the agenda will also focus on wider political and humanitarian crises in the Middle East region fuelled by the civil war, where nearly 5 million Syrians are living as refugees.

The conference has been organized by the United Kingdom, Germany, Kuwait, Norway and the United Nations.

More than 70 world leaders are due to attend, including UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon together with major UN agencies.

Organizers are hoping that beyond funding on-going emergency aid programmes, issues such as chronic unemployment and educating millions of Syrian refugee children will also be addressed.

Nikki Chadwick spoke to the UN’s Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, Stephen O’Brien, who’s in London, and asked him about his hopes for the conference.

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