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EU sends Lebanon $22m humanitarian aid to ease food crisis

April 21, 2022 at 2:37 pm

A Lebanese woman stands next to her empty refrigerator in her apartment in Beirut, Lebanon on 17 June 2020 [IBRAHIM CHALHOUB/AFP/Getty Images]

The European Commission announced on Thursday that the EU will send €20 million (almost $22 million) of humanitarian aid to Lebanon to ease the food insecurity exacerbated by Russia’s war in Ukraine, Anadolu News Agency reports.

“To support the most vulnerable segments of the population in Lebanon, the EU has allocated an additional €20 million in humanitarian aid to respond to rising food insecurity and other needs,” the EU executive body said in a statement.

Lebanon has no centrally generated electricity after fuel shortages forced its two largest power stations to shut down - Cartoon [Sabaaneh/Middle East Monitor]

Lebanon has no centrally generated electricity after fuel shortages forced its two largest power stations to shut down – Cartoon [Sabaaneh/Middle East Monitor]

The aid will be dedicated to the most vulnerable Lebanese people, as well as Palestinian and Syrian refugees living in the country.

Russia’s war on Ukraine and soaring food prices have aggravated the already difficult situation in Lebanon, which has been facing a political and economic crisis for over two years.

The European Commission said the humanitarian assistance was particularly important because Lebanon imports 96 per cent of its wheat from Ukraine and Russia.

In addition to the majority of the 1.5 million Syrian refugees, over 2.5 million people, including 2.2 million Lebanese, 208,000 Palestinians, and 78,000 other refugees need humanitarian aid in Lebanon, according to the latest UN figures.

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