The United Nations said it will roll out a USD378.5 million emergency aid plan to support vulnerable populations in Lebanon.
The money will go to 1.1 million of the most vulnerable Lebanese and migrants in the poverty stricken country, according to a statement by the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.
Seventy eight percent of Lebanon’s population is now living in poverty, according to a new report by the UN. The small Mediterranean country is undergoing worrying economic distress, with poverty soaring, hyperinflation, electricity blackouts, and fuel shortages.
“Lebanon is grappling with an economic and financial meltdown, COVID-19, and the disastrous human impact of the Beirut Port explosions one year ago, as well as the impact of the Syrian crisis,” the statement said.
In August last year, the Lebanese capital shook as hundreds of tons of unsafely stored chemicals exploded in the Beirut port, killing more than 200 people and destroying large areas of the city.
The explosion’s one-year anniversary comes amid unprecedented financial turmoil and a political stalemate that has left the country without a functional government for a year.
Former PM Saad Hariri resigned last month after multiple failed attempts to form a government, leading to the appointment of billionaire Najib Mikati as the country’s new prime minister-designate.
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