Top UN official calls for new deal for Syria refugees, help them make a living close to home

The head of the U.N. Development Program, Helen Clark, speaks during her visit to the Al-Akedir landfill, near the Syrian border, during a tour of northern Jordan on Sunday, Nov. 8, 2015. Clark says she is "beating the drum" for a new deal for Syrian refugees that will help them make a living close to home. (AP Photo/Raad Adayleh) (The Associated Press)

The head of the U.N. Development Program, Helen Clark, speaks to The Associated Press during her visit to the Al-Akedir landfill, near the Syrian border, during a tour of northern Jordan on Sunday, Nov. 8, 2015. Clark says she is "beating the drum" for a new deal for Syrian refugees that will help them make a living close to home. (AP Photo/Raad Adayleh) (The Associated Press)

REHAB, Jordan – The head of the U.N. development agency says she is "beating the drum" for a new deal for Syrian refugees that will help them make a living close to home.

Helen Clark told The Associated Press during a tour of northern Jordan that aid "must go beyond relief" and more funding is needed. Donors paid less than half the $4.5 billion aid agencies sought for 2015.

Clark's U.N. Development Program launched a two-day conference in Jordan on Sunday for key international players to agree on a shift from emergency relief to a sustainable approach. Clark says the shift is "all about funding."

More than 4 million Syrians became refugees since 2011, most settling in neighboring countries where legal jobs are rare. Unable to survive, tens of thousands headed to Europe.