US provides more than $67 mn in additional humanitarian assistance in Lebanon
The United States government, through the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), is providing more than $67 million in additional urgently needed humanitarian assistance for vulnerable populations in Lebanon. This brings the total USAID humanitarian assistance to Lebanon to over $157 million since Fiscal Year 2023.
"Lebanon’s protracted economic, financial, and humanitarian crises have led lead to acute levels of food insecurity and critical healthcare needs nationwide," the U.S. embassy in Beirut said Wednesday in a statement.
"These needs arise from highly inflated prices for food, fuel, and basic commodities; loss of livelihoods; and the departure of medical personnel," the statement said.
The statement added that the regional impact of the ongoing crisis in Gaza has further exacerbated humanitarian needs in Lebanon. "Insecurity in southern Lebanon has prompted USAID partners to mobilize existing resources to meet urgent humanitarian assistance needs among the more than 91,000 individuals who have been internally displaced since October 2023."
The U.S. embassy went on to say that this newly announced funding enables USAID humanitarian partners to continue providing life-saving aid, including emergency food assistance and nutritional support; emergency health care; humanitarian protection and psychosocial support; and water, sanitation, and hygiene services. "This additional humanitarian assistance enables our partner, the U.N. World Food Program (WFP), to maintain monthly food assistance to vulnerable communities in Lebanon during a period of dwindling resources and persistent needs among the most vulnerable. This funding has allowed WFP to sustain the flow of vital assistance for several months, reaching over 500,000 individuals, of whom over 200,000 are Lebanese citizens. With this assistance, USAID partners -- International Medical Corps and Relief International -- will also continue to support more than 141,000 individuals through 13 primary health care clinics across Lebanon and provide home-based healthcare for patients unable to access clinics."
The U.S. embassy added that the United States remains committed to delivering critical humanitarian assistance to those in need across Lebanon. However, escalating needs are outpacing the resources available to address them. While USAID support has been instrumental in saving lives and alleviating suffering among the most vulnerable, including by providing more than $202 million to WFP for food assistance to vulnerable Lebanese and Syrian refugees in 2022 and 2023 alone, humanitarian conditions will continue to deteriorate, the embassy said. Subsequently, relief agencies’ ability to sustain current recipient caseloads will continue to decline without additional funding.
The embassy therefore urgently called on other donors to join it in stepping up efforts "to meet these pressing needs and prevent further deterioration of the humanitarian situation in Lebanon."
For the latest updates on USAID’s humanitarian assistance in Lebanon, visit:
www.usaid.gov/humanitarian-assistance/lebanon
Source: Naharnet
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