U.S. Says it Provides $51 Million to WFP, NGOs to Help Lebanon Confront Refugee Crisis
The U.S. embassy revealed on Thursday that Washington is providing more than $51 million to the World Food Program and Non-Governmental Organizations in Lebanon, the highest amount in terms of assistance provided to countries neighboring war-torn Syria.
In a series of tweets, the embassy said that “the U.S. is committed to delivering humanitarian assistance to Syrians through the U.N. broad network, no matter where they reside or have sought refuge.”
The U.S. assistance in Lebanon includes food aid, protection, shelter, water and sanitation in host communities, education programs and other programs to prevent gender-based violence, it said in one tweet.
Secretary of State John Kerry's announcement during a visit to Beirut of a $290 million in U.S. aid for U.N. agencies, rose total humanitarian assistance since the beginning of the Syrian crisis to more than $2 billion.
Lebanon, home to 4.5 million people, is struggling to cope with the presence of more than a million Syrian and Palestinian refugees in desperate need of housing, education and medical care.
There will be a new assistance of nearly $169 million inside Syria and more than $121 million for neighboring countries, including Lebanon, the mission tweeted.
The U.S. assistance is aimed at helping over 4.7 million people inside Syria and more than 2.8 million refugees and host communities in neighboring countries, the embassy said.
It called on “all nations to support urgent needs inside Syria and in neighboring countries,” saying “more than 2/3 of U.N.'s appeal remains unfunded.”
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