Austria Gives 3 Million Euros as Humanitarian Aid to Lebanon
The Austrian government will increase its humanitarian and financial aid to Lebanon since the country in the Middle East is going through a severe economic crisis and at the same time is harboring a high number of refugees. The aid will go through UNHCR, CERF and the NGO Geneva Call.
Austria Will Donate 3 Million Euros Through, Among Others, UNHCR to Lebanon. / Picture: © Simong43
As a result of global food insecurity, fueled by the Russian war of aggression in Ukraine, the economic and social situation in crisis-ridden Lebanon is becoming increasingly critical for the local population. More than 80 percent of the population lives in poverty, and a quarter of all Lebanese are food insecure. Also, Lebanon has hosted 1.5 million Syrians displaced by the Syrian conflict since the conflict began. The country's already fragile basic services are being further strained by this. Through the Foreign Disaster Fund of the Austrian Foreign Ministry, three million euros are being provided to alleviate the suffering in Lebanon.
As one of the UN's key reform projects in the humanitarian field, the United Nations Emergency Response Fund (CERF), reformed in December 2005, is part of the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA). By acting as a stand-by fund, CERF can provide reliable humanitarian aid when natural disasters or armed conflicts strike.
With Austria's support for CERF, people on the ground will receive quick and effective assistance. In Syria, the Horn of Africa, and the Sahel region, Geneva Call has been active for more than 20 years. NGO commitments are diverse. It not only campaigns for the ban on anti-personnel mines, the protection of children and young people from the effects of armed conflicts and protection from sexualized violence but also for compliance with international humanitarian law, with a special focus on armed, non-state actors.
Of the €3 million, €1 million will go to the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) for Lebanon. A further 1.9 million euros will go to the international emergency aid fund CERF/OCHA and a further 100,000 euros to the non-governmental organization Geneva Call.