UK announces emergency humanitarian response funding for Lebanon

UK Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper has announced over £5 million in additional emergency humanitarian funding to help thousands of vulnerable and displaced civilians across Lebanon to meet their basic needs. This will be delivered through partners including to the World Food Programme (WFP), the Lebanese Red Cross (LRC) via the British Red Cross (BRC), and the UN OCHA Lebanon Humanitarian Fund (LHF).

In a statement issued today, the Foreign Secretary warned against the widening conflict in Lebanon, which has already caused civilian casualties and mass civilian displacement.  

In response to the Flash Appeal for Lebanon launched on 13 March, the UK's package of funding will be delivered in close coordination with the Government of Lebanon and includes support to the Ministry of Social Affairs (MoSA) National Shock Response Safety Net (SRSN) emergency programme via WFP. It also includes additional funding to the LRC for medical supplies and relief items, and to LHF to support thousands of vulnerable displaced families across Lebanon. 

We are also adapting our ongoing humanitarian programming to provide immediate lifesaving assistance through our existing partners. This includes:

• Emergency relief efforts through the Lebanese Red Cross (via the British Red Cross) to distribute 1,000 ready-to-eat meals, 2,500 hygiene kits, 1,000 blankets, and 2,500 fuel vouchers to displaced people.
• Distribution of core relief items by the International Organisation for Migration to 6,000 displaced individuals in shelters.
• Emergency Gender-Based Violence (GBV) and Sexual and Reproductive Health (SRH) services through UNFPA and in partnership with NGOs including Caritas, Fe-Male and Akkarouna inside and outside shelters and via a Mobile Medical Unit.
• Providing emergency education supplies for over 120,000 children and dignity kits for 10,000 adolescent girls in collective shelters through UNICEF.

Other UK support includes:

• The strengthening of frontline GBV response in shelters with ABAAD NGO, including on the job coaching for MoSA social workers and primary health care staff.
• The provision of 500 meals daily to displaced Lebanese and Palestinian families in five collective shelters in Beirut.

British Ambassador to Lebanon Hamish Cowell said:

Mass displacement of hundreds of thousands of Lebanese people is unacceptable. Civilians, healthcare workers, frontline responders, and civilian infrastructure must be protected. 

Alongside our ongoing diplomatic efforts, the UK is providing over £5 million in additional funding to Lebanon to support thousands of vulnerable and displaced civilians across the country to meet their basic needs.  We will continue to coordinate closely with the Government of Lebanon and humanitarian partners.