U.N. Says $18 Million Allocated for Lebanon to Meet Needs of Vulnerable

The Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF) has allocated $18 million to support interventions under the Lebanon Crisis Response Plan (LCRP), the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs announced on Friday.

This allocation will provide a comprehensive and targeted package of health and food security services to meet the emergency humanitarian needs of almost 297,000 vulnerable Lebanese, Syrians and Palestinians and strengthen their capacities to cope with lasting effects of the Syria crisis, it said in a statement.

“The CERF allocation is an important contribution to compensate existing funding gaps in Lebanon which has been brought to the brink now that the Syria crisis has entered its fifth year,” said U.N. Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator for Lebanon Ross Mountain.

Mountain voiced hope that the upcoming donors conference in Kuwait will demonstrate the commitment of donors to support Lebanon and the needy.

The majority of the CERF interventions will take place in the eastern Bekaa Valley, the northern Akkar province and other areas in the North which have been most affected by the Syria crisis.

“Through this CERF allocation and in line with the LCRP strategic objectives, agencies will work on ensuring humanitarian assistance and protection for the most vulnerable among refugees from Syria and poorest Lebanese and on strengthening the capacity of national and local delivery systems to expand access to and quality of basic public services,” said Friday's statement.

The World Food Program (WFP) will utilize $4 million to provide food assistance to vulnerable Syrian refugee children under five and $1 million to meet the food assistance needs of vulnerable Lebanese under the Ministry of Social Affairs’ Emergency National Poverty Targeting Program (E-NPTP).

Five million dollars will be used by UNHCR to provide primary and secondary health intervention for Syrian refugees in Lebanon and another $1 million will be used for the same purpose through UNRWA for Palestine Refugees from Syria.

Moreover, UNICEF will invest $6 million in water and sanitation projects that benefit both Lebanese and Syrians in vulnerable communities. UNFPA will implement a $1 million project to provide quality and timely reproductive health and live saving services to survivors of gender based violence.