Tag: Lebanon

UK commits millions to helping the world’s most vulnerable on World Humanitarian Day

The UK has announced £36 million in UK humanitarian funding to help people in Ukraine, East Africa and Syria

  • £36 million in UK funding committed to provide emergency care to those enduring conflict in Ukraine and Syria and food shortages in East Africa.
  • The UK continues to be a global leader supporting vulnerable people experiencing devastating conflict, extreme weather and lasting impacts of the pandemic.
  • Tributes paid to aid workers helping to deal with unprecedented humanitarian catastrophes, caused by global instability and exacerbated by Putin’s invasion of Ukraine.

People whose lives have been upended by the Russian invasion of Ukraine, drought and food shortages in East Africa, and conflict in Syria will be among those to benefit from £36 million in UK humanitarian funding announced today.

The announcement comes on United Nation’s World Humanitarian Day (Friday 19 August) as parts of the globe come under increasing strain from lasting effects of the pandemic, the increasing impact of climate change, and conflicts in Europe, Africa and the Middle East.

Local aid workers are at the forefront of the effort to alleviate the disastrous consequences of these crises as they provide humanitarian assistance for communities across the world. The UK’s funding announcement will support them to continue their essential work.

In Ukraine and Poland, where the majority of Ukrainians who have fled the conflict have travelled, £15 million in UK funding will support up to 200,000 of the most vulnerable impacted by Russia’s invasion. 

This includes children, older people and those with disabilities. International aid organisation Mercy Corps will work with grassroots civil society groups to provide emergency assistance to cover basic needs, including food, water and sanitation, psychological support and childcare services.

In East Africa, where severe food insecurity threatens over 48 million people, the UK has allocated an additional £14 million to the countries on the frontline of the world’s worst humanitarian crisis. This new spending, which will work immediately to save lives and prevent more people experiencing famine-like conditions, includes:

  • A £5 million boost to the UK Somalia programme, which is providing life-saving health, nutrition, food security and water and sanitation assistance to over half a million people in some of the most vulnerable families.
  • £6 million for the Ethiopia Humanitarian Fund which will provide vital assistance to under-funded emergencies across Ethiopia, including drought and conflict-affected regions.
  • £3 million in emergency humanitarian funding to the World Food Programme, Sudan, helping reach approximately 120,000 vulnerable people with food assistance.

Minister of State for South and Central Asia, North Africa, UN and the Commonwealth and the Prime Minister’s Special Representative on Preventing Sexual Violence in Conflict, Lord (Tariq) Ahmad of Wimbledon said: “In 2022 millions more people are now in desperate need of humanitarian support.

“UK funding is ensuring that the UN and local partners can reach those affected by Russian aggression in Ukraine, drought in East Africa and ongoing conflicts in Syria, Yemen and Afghanistan. We thank those on the ground who so often risk their own lives to help and protect them.

“Britain has a proud humanitarian tradition, and we will continue to support the most vulnerable, wherever they are.”

The Russian invasion is exacerbating the world food crisis, which is hitting the poorest hardest, particularly in East Africa. The UK and its allies have pushed hard for the UN grain initiative and the world is watching to ensure that Russia complies, so food continues to flow from Ukraine and feed the hungry.

The UK is also providing £1.5 million to deploy technology to identify whether grain sold by Russia on the world market has been stolen from Ukraine. A package of rail support to Ukraine will also ensure grain trains can run. Moreover, the UK is providing Ukraine with the military capability to help protect its ports, essential for the grain deal to be a success.

Minister for Africa, Vicky Ford said: “In the Horn of Africa, around 700,000 people are experiencing famine conditions – and in Somalia over 386,000 children are projected to be severely malnourished and at risk of death by the end of the year.

“UK aid in east Africa is providing life-saving support to the most vulnerable people in the hardest hit countries.

“We must now bring new stakeholders to the table to strengthen our international action towards the world’s worst humanitarian crisis today.”

The UK is also announcing a £7 million package to support Syrian refugees who have fled the conflict to Lebanon, delivered through the World Food Programme.

This funding will help provide more than 150,000 people with food, water and nutrition. This is part of the UK’s pledge to provide up to £158 million earlier this year at the Brussels Pledging Conference for the Syria Crisis, which will support food production, protect women and girls from violence and ensure humanitarian access to the North East of Syria, where the situation is deteriorating.

The UK is the third largest bilateral donor to the crisis in Syria, having committed over £3.8 billion to date in our largest ever response to a single humanitarian crisis. This includes support to the governments of Jordan, Lebanon and Turkey to cope with the protracted refugee presence by supporting displaced Syrians until they can return safely to Syria.

Since 2012, across Syria and the region, the UK has provided over 28.3 million food rations, over 24 million medical consultations, 6.3 million cash grants/vouchers, 11 million relief packages and over 15.2 million vaccines. Our aid provides life-saving support to millions of Syrians, supporting refugees to remain in countries in the region, and enabling their host communities to accommodate them.

The UK has consistently been one of the largest bilateral humanitarian donors globally and have been at the forefront of driving more effective and innovative approaches to crisis prevention, preparedness, and response.  Since 2015, the UK has reached 32.6 million people with humanitarian aid, saving lives and alleviating suffering in places like Syria, Ethiopia, and Afghanistan.

Now in Ukraine, the UK is working alongside trusted partners to deliver its £220 million humanitarian pledge.

Mercy Corps Ukraine Response Director, Michael Young, said: “In Ukraine and Poland, we have partnered directly with local organisations that know their community needs best and are working quickly to deliver humanitarian aid.

“With this funding, our partners will continue to deliver emergency assistance and ship essential supplies such as food and hygiene items to people affected by heavy fighting, as well as providing reliable information on where to access basic services, safe routes, legal rights for refugees and people displaced inside Ukraine.”

Edinburgh Direct Aid: Arsal issues emergency winter fuel appeal

Amidst fears that hundreds of Syrian refugees and local Lebanese families could face disaster in freezing winter conditions in the mountains near the Syrian border, officials in the town of Arsal have declared a fuel emergency and appealed for urgent outside help to buy heating oil so they can survive the harsh months ahead.

At an altitude where temperatures can drop to minus 15oC, around 70,000 Syrian refugees, most of them living in tents, and 40,000 local Lebanese residents lack fuel for the diesel stoves that could help them through the winter, the worst of which is still to come. 

Around 1400m up in the mountains, Arsal is the highest and most vulnerable of the refugee settlements in Lebanon. 

The perils facing refugees trying to keep warm in the winter were highlighted in early January by the death of a Syrian mother and her three young children, asphyxiated by burning coal in their shelter in a coastal village in south Lebanon – at a much lower altitude than Arsal. 

Many of the refugee families in Arsal have survived previous winters, but this one is different. Because of the Lebanese economic crisis, fuel prices in the collapsing local currency are now something like 20 times higher than they were 12 months before.

And because of budget cuts, the refugee agency UNHCR and other NGOs are only able to provide funding for less than 30% of the needs. 

Each refugee family is left to find around $350 or more to buy the 700 litres of diesel they need to see them through the winter – an impossible sum for them to raise themselves.

Faced with potential disaster, the mayor of Arsal, Basel al-Hujairi, has taken the unusual step of declaring a winter fuel emergency and issuing an appeal, backed by local schools, health centres and NGOs, calling on the international community to step forward to help bridge the drastic funding gap. 

“Please reflect on the consequences of leaving thousands of families in flimsy tents without heating in temperatures far below zero and biting winds,” the appeal said. 

It needs to raise altogether some $5.5m, which would provide winter heating for 8,500 families huddled in tents, 3,000 in housing, and local Lebanese inhabitants in need, as well as schools, health centres and the municipality. 

Issued by Edinburgh Direct Aid (https://edinburghdirectaid.org), a non-profit NGO which is one of the few to maintain a permanent presence in Arsal, running schools, a vocational centre and other projects.

UK Government announces emergency support for Beirut

Following yesterday’s explosion at Beirut Port, the UK has announced a package of emergency support to Lebanon.

Following Tuesday’s explosion at Beirut Port, which has left thousands injured and caused widespread destruction, the UK yesterday announced a package of emergency support to Lebanon.

The UK has offered to immediately deploy search and rescue experts with specially trained dogs to help find those caught up in the blast.

Following a call between the Hassan Diab, Prime Minister of Lebanon and the Foreign Secretary, Dominic Raab, the UK has made up to £5 million in emergency humanitarian funding available to help people made homeless by the disaster.

The UK has also offered enhanced support to the Lebanese Armed Forces, who are central to the Government of Lebanon’s response, including tailored medical help, strategic air transport assistance, and engineering and communications support.

The UK has also offered to send an EMT advance clinical advisory team who could provide initial assessment and coordination with search and rescue teams. UK International Emergency Medical Teams (EMT) offer a rapid provision of internationally accredited public health, medical and surgical teams including both NHS and non NHS experts.

Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab said: “This was a devastating explosion which has caused enormous suffering and damage. The UK is a long-standing friend of Lebanon and the Lebanese people, and will stand with them in their hour of need.

“We have offered immediate direct support including search and rescue, emergency medical assistance and up to £5m in humanitarian aid.

International Development Secretary Anne-Marie Trevelyan said: “We have all been shocked by the scenes of devastation and suffering in Beirut. My heart goes out to all those who have been affected by this tragedy and who have lost loved ones.

The UK stands ready to support the people of Lebanon in their time of need and has offered to send medics and rescue workers to treat those who have been injured.

The damage caused by the blast, which measured 4.5 on the Richter scale and was felt as far away as Cyprus (150 miles from Beirut), is widespread and likely to have long-lasting consequences. Lebanon was already experiencing a major economic crisis and dealing with the coronavirus pandemic, as well as hosting over 1.5 million refugees from the war in neighbouring Syria.

The UK already works closely with Lebanon and this partnership is focused on managing the humanitarian, stability and security implications of the war in Syria.

Since the start of the Syria Crisis, DFID has allocated just under £700 million in humanitarian and development funding to Lebanon, including providing support for sanitation facilities, education for refugees and helped provide jobs for both Lebanese and Syrian communities.

British Red Cross launches Beirut Emergency Appeal

  • British Red Cross has launched an emergency appeal to save lives and support the recovery following yesterday’s devastating explosion in Beirut
  • It’s reported that at least 100 people have been killed and over 4,000 people are injured. These numbers are likely to continue to rise.
  • Lebanese Red Cross have been responding to the crisis since last night
  • Search and rescue teams from the Lebanese Red Cross are looking through the rubble and devastation to find anyone trapped
  • The Lebanese Red Cross has sent all of its emergency medical support to the scene, with more than 75 ambulances and over 375 emergency medical responders from across Lebanon rushing to the area to help evacuate and treat the injured
  • To donate to the British Red Cross Beirut Emergency Appeal: redcross.org.uk/Beirut

Today, the British Red Cross has launched the Beirut Emergency Appeal for anyone in the UK who would like to support the relief effort in Beirut, following the devastating explosion yesterday.

The funds raised will help the relief work on the ground being provided by the Lebanese Red Cross, who are responding to this emergency.

Search and rescue teams from the Lebanese Red Cross are looking through the rubble and devastation to find anyone trapped. All of Lebanese Red Cross’ emergency medical support has already been sent to the scene, with more than 75 ambulances and over 375 emergency medical responders from across Lebanon rushing to the area to help evacuate and treat the injured. This is crucial to get people to hospitals outside of Beirut for life-saving treatment.

First aid stations have been set up in and around Beirut to help people who have been injured and Lebanese Red Cross teams are helping patients who have been so badly injured.

People in Beirut are dealing with injuries, loss of loved ones and damaged homes. This comes at a time when Lebanon is experiencing an economic crisis, and the tragic and complex challenges of the coronavirus pandemic.

Alexander Matheou, Executive Director of International, British Red Cross: “The situation in Beirut is very serious. Hospitals have been heavily damaged. Doctors are overwhelmed with the number of people needing medical help and are not able to treat everyone.

“Some people have had to be treated in the streets and the number of fatalities is likely to rise.  If you can, please donate to our Beirut Emergency Appeal to save lives right now and help people recover.”

To donate to the Beirut Emergency Appeal you can:

Tel number: 0300 023 0812

Web: redcross.org.uk/Beirut

Or search: ‘British Red Cross – Beirut Emergency Appeal