ATHENS: The United States is giving $24 million in new money to help refugees as the European winter approaches.

The aid will go to the UN refugee agency's provisions of food, water and shelter.

It will help governments screen and process refugees as they arrive in Europe.

US Secretary of State John Kerry made the announcement as he visited Athens Friday.

Greece has been overwhelmed by hundreds of thousands of Syrians and other refugees who've reached the country's shores this year.

The US has provided $4.5 billion in humanitarian assistance since the start of Syria's civil war in 2011.