The meeting in Oslo had been billed as a mini-pledging conference for quick impact humanitarian projects.

BBC: G L Peiris, left, and Anton Balasingham

Addressing the International Humanitarian Pledging Conference for Syria in Kuwait City on Wednesday, Ban Ki-moon described the situation in Syria as "catastrophic".

BBC: Donors pledge $1.5bn for UN Syria aid operation

EU's pledging conference planned for November is supposed to spot other gaps in defences too.

ECONOMIST: On the cheap doesn��t pay