UN well short of funds pledged for Lebanon aid
The United Nations has warned its flash appeal for humanitarian aid in Lebanon was so far only 17 percent funded, urging donor countries to turn pledges into cash.
"We are facing a rapidly deteriorating humanitarian situation," said Jens Laerke, spokesman for the U.N.'s humanitarian agency OCHA.
"The needs are rising by the minute, and the pledge does not buy food, medicine or shelter. So we're hoping for a rapid disbursement."
He told a press conference that only 17 percent of the $426 million sought in the flash appeal had been received.
The largest contributors to the $73 million received so far are Italy with $17 million, the United States with $11.7 million, Sweden with $9.3 million, France with $7.2 million, Britain with $6.4 million and Germany with $5.5 million.
France hosted a donor conference last month at which countries pledged $800 million for humanitarian aid in Lebanon.
Laerke reminded donors of the urgency of "turning these pledges into money that can work on the front line," because OCHA cannot deliver aid "unless the money flows fast."
After nearly a year of cross-border fire with Hezbollah, Israel ramped up strikes on the group's strongholds in September and then sent ground forces across the border.
Since fighting in Lebanon escalated on September 23, the war has killed at least 1,829 people in Lebanon, according to an AFP tally of health ministry figures.
Citing figures from the U.N. refugee agency and the Syrian Red Crescent, Laerke said that more than 460,000 people have fled Lebanon for neighboring Syria, while 25,000 have gone on to Iraq.
The U.N. migration agency warned the number of people still within Lebanon but who are displaced from their homes stood at 842,648 on Wednesday.
"In the past week, there have been 18,525 new displacements," the U.N.'s International Organization for Migration said.
"These individuals might be experiencing displacement for the first time or undergoing secondary movement," it added.
Source: Agence France Presse
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