Lebanon’s economic crisis has resulted in more than half its population living under the poverty line, with their most basic needs not being met. With support provided by the Nobel Peace Prize winner of 2020, the World Food Programme (WFP), and with many countries donating to Lebanon, more and more people have received access to food and other basic needs.
The World Food Programme is a UN agency that focuses on food-assistance and is the world’s largest humanitarian organization. With over 20,000 staff members across 80 countries, they aim to enhance the quality of life for people, communities and countries in distress. The WFP’s new goal for Lebanon is to support 1.6 million people, doubling the number of people who receive aid, and this was decided after WFP’s Executive Director, David Beasley, visited Lebanon.
The WFP has been working all year to reach more Lebanese families and provide them with food and financial assistance. Their previous goal was to support 350,000 people per month and another objective was to support 1.4 million people, as Lebanese people and Syrian refugees in Lebanon have been receiving food baskets regularly, including oil, lentils and other items. Although this objective hasn’t yet been completed, donations from other nations will further help in accomplishing this.
Belgium has donated $8.1 million to the WFP in order to support countries in need, including Lebanon, and Canada has donated US$8.7 million to assist in Lebanon’s economic hardships.
By the beginning of 2021, WFP’s plan was to ensure that 100,000 Lebanese families would be food secure and well-fed before the end of the year. So far, the number has reached 800,000 people. The WFP has been working on supporting small business owners in Lebanon such as farmers, in order to make sure they are able to remain productive for themselves and for their communities, in addition to sending food for women and children.
“We aspire to increase our assistance in Lebanon to reach around 1.6 million people during the upcoming few months from 800,000 that we support currently.”
– Said David Beasly after his visit to Lebanon.
Lebanon will be receiving $1.16 million worth of food rations for a whole year, which means that the WFP would be helping one out of four Lebanese people, nearly half a million Lebanese people and 1.2 million refugees who currently remain there.
If you’d like to play a part in offering aid to Lebanon, you can donate to countries and people in need here.
