News

Articles

The United States granted Lebanon around $13 million in assistance “to mitigate” the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic, Washington said.

The statement from the U.S. Embassy in Beirut declared that $13.3 million in aid would be divided into $5.3 million for United States Agency for International Development’s International Disaster Assistance for response activities focusing on the most vulnerable Lebanese.

The announcement was made to help “impact people's lives, by helping people on an individual and a societal basis to confront this pandemic,” U.S. Ambassador to Lebanon Dorothy Shea said.

This will be used to support private health facilities to appropriately triage, manage, and refer patients; ensure continuity of essential health services; carry out risk communication and community outreach activities; and increase access to water, sanitation, and hygiene activities in health care settings.

The remaining $8 million in aid will be from the U.S. State Department’s Migration and Refugee Assistance to UNHCR in order to help in the fight against coronavirus among “refugees and Lebanese host communities in need.”

According to Shea, Washington has been “pivoting” some of its existing assistance programs to make sure that they are as “responsive as possible to the needs on the ground.”

“We have also been drawing on additional resources from Washington, tailoring that assistance with our trusted partners in Lebanon to help meet emerging needs,” she added.