Sacha Baron Cohen and Isla Fisher to donate $1m for Syrians war victims

Actor Sacha Baron Cohen and his wife Isla Fisher are donating one million US dollars (£671,000) to Save the Children and the International Rescue Committee to support victims of the conflict in Syria.

Save the Children has announced half of the sum will fund a programme vaccinating more than 250,000 children against a potential measles outbreak in northern Syria.

The other half of the donation will go toward supporting families, with a special concern for women and children, both inside Syria and in neighbouring countries. That money will go towards education, healthcare, shelter and sanitation, Save the Children said.

Ali G creator London-born Cohen, 44, starred in comedy features including Borat and The Dictator while Fisher, 39, who converted to Judaism when she married Cohen, appeared in Confessions of a Shopaholic and Netflix comedy series Arrested Development.