UN Reports Severe Funding Shortages for Aid in Lebanon

On Friday, the United Nations announced that it is facing a significant funding shortfall for humanitarian assistance in Lebanon.

The organization has only managed to secure 17% of the $426 million it requested for aid efforts. Jens Larke, a spokesperson for the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), highlighted the growing needs of the population, stating that the promises of financial support are insufficient to provide necessities such as food, medicine, or shelter for those displaced by the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hezbollah.

Larke emphasized the rapidly deteriorating humanitarian situation in Lebanon and expressed hopes that UN agencies and their partners would receive the necessary funds quickly.

The call for humanitarian assistance has resulted in only $72 million pledged so far, with contributions including $17 million from Italy, $11.7 million from the United States, $10 million from the UN Central Emergency Response Fund, $9.3 million from Sweden, $7.2 million from France, $6.4 million from the UK, and $5.5 million from Germany.

Larke acknowledged the efforts of the French government in hosting a crucial donor conference last month, where it was announced that donor countries had committed about $800 million in humanitarian aid for Lebanon. 

However, he stressed the urgent need to convert these pledges into actual cash contributions to enable the UN to provide timely assistance.

In terms of displacement, the UN reported that over 450,000 individuals have fled Lebanon to seek refuge in Syria, while an additional 25,000 have moved to Iraq.

The total number of internally displaced persons in Lebanon has reached 842,000, according to figures from the International Organization for Migration.