Beirut, 17 July 2020 – the Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator ad interim, along with UN and NGO partners, are launching today the updated Lebanon Emergency Appeal (LEA), following the global launch of the updated Global Humanitarian Response Plan (GHRP) on 16 July. The updated appeal for US$482 million is to continue to address until the end of the year critical areas of humanitarian intervention to protect the lives of people in Lebanon who are most acutely at risk due to the COVID-19 outbreak and its immediate socio-economic impact.
“At this critical juncture for Lebanon, this updated appeal aims at providing support to the government and the people of Lebanon to respond to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. The humanitarian interventions for which the appeal seeks funding will address the needs of the most destitute to cope with the deepening crisis”, said Claudio Cordone, Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator ad interim.
The LEA is based on the principle of a single health response for all those residing in Lebanon, without distinction based on gender, nationality or status.
The updated appeal will further strengthen the health system in Lebanon, including through the procurement of additional testing kits, intensive care unit beds, ventilators and personal protective equipment, as well as the upgrading of ten public hospital laboratories and the continued distribution of hygiene kits. The appeal also includes scaling up support to establish and maintain isolation centres to respond to a further increase in the number of infections. The appeal activities strengthen awareness-raising on the COVID-19 for all population groups, including domestic workers, stateless people and LGBTI.
The appeal provides for continued support to vulnerable Lebanese people, as well as other vulnerable communities in Lebanon, facing increasing hardship because of the dire socio-economic situation in Lebanon and the impact of COVID-19-related lockdown measures that further affected the ability of people to work and meet their basic needs. The LEA will support an estimated 89,000 vulnerable Lebanese households with food and cash assistance, as well as 40,000 households indirectly benefiting from support provided to 40 municipalities to develop small businesses for the production of masks and COVID-19 related materials.
The appeal can be found at: https://reliefweb.int/node/3653876