US unveils food and solar aid for Lebanon

USAID administrator Samantha Power is visiting the country for three days, as Beirut grapples with several crises

USAID chief Samantha Power tours a company in Zahle during her visit to Lebanon. Reuters

US aid chief Samantha Power on Wednesday announced $72 million in emergency food assistance and $8.5m in funding towards 22 new solar-powered water pumping projects in Lebanon.

The food aid package will help at least 650,000 people, the US Agency for International Development (USAID) said, including refugees from Syria and other countries living in the economically stressed country.

“While that is a huge amount of resources, a huge amount of humanitarian assistance, we know the needs are even greater than that,” Ms Power said while on a tour of an animal fodder processing facility in Zahle.

She said she looked forward to meeting with political leaders and urging reforms to resolve Lebanon's protracted political and economic crisis.

Leaders "are not yet able to come together to put in place the kind of longer-term political leadership that is needed in this country to make a set of vital reforms that will allow all of us in the international community to go beyond band-aids," Ms Power said.

USAID said in a statement that the aid would be distributed through the United Nations World Food Programme and would will provide household food parcels including rice, lentils, and chickpeas for Lebanese families, as well as "electronic food vouchers for Syrian refugees to use in local shops, which supports the Lebanese economy.”

In addition, the solar project will serve half a million people, USAID said.

Ms Power made the announcement while touring a solar-powered water pumping site on a three-day visit to Lebanon.

A health worker treats a child who is suspected of having cholera at a field hospital in Bebnine, Akkar district, northern Lebanon. All photos: Reuters

Lebanon's Ministry of Public Health has reported 130 cases of cholera, taking the total of suspected and confirmed case to 1,225 as of October 28.

Confirmed cholera cases in Lebanon now stand at 371, with 16 deaths.

There are 154 cases of cholera in the Lebanese town of Bebnine.

Lebanon's first case of cholera since 1993 was reported on October 6 in Akkar district, about 20 kilometres north of Tripoli.

Cholera is an acute diarrhoeal disease that can be treated with oral rehydration but is deadly if left untreated, according to the World Health Organisation.

Cholera is spread by unsafe water and food that has been contaminated by human waste.

Lebanon shares border with Syria, where cases of cholera continue to rise.

Syria’s cholera outbreak is likely to have started with contaminated water and food irrigated by the Euphrates River, Save the Children says.

“More than half of Lebanese households are in need of some form of food assistance, a situation that has been exacerbated by Putin's war against Ukraine,” USAID said in a separate statement.

“This also has a negative impact on the millions of refugees Lebanon graciously continues to host.”

The World Bank's Spring 2021 Lebanon Economic Monitor found that the country's economic and financial problems rank among the worst economic crises globally since the mid-19th century.

Nominal gross domestic product (GDP) plummeted from close to $52 billion in 2019 to an estimated $23.1bn in 2021, according to the report.

In September, the International Monetary Fund called on Beirut to carry out critical structural and financial reforms, a prerequisite to securing $3bn of economic assistance.

The country is also grappling with a deadly cholera outbreak, with the country’s health ministry reporting more than 1,700 confirmed or suspected cases last week since the outbreak began in early October.

The outbreak has become so concerning that on Tuesday Egypt announced it would send 17 tonnes of medicine and vaccines to Beirut in a bid to help.

The aid was due to arrive by military plane in Beirut on Wednesday morning, the Egyptian embassy in Lebanon said.

On her trip to Lebanon this week Ms Power will also meet Lebanese and Syrian students, and refugees and residents from Lebanese host communities.

The visit comes just before Ms Power's trip to Sharm El Sheikh in Egypt for the Cop27 climate conference.

Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed, Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Co-operation looks on as the UAE, Jordan and Israel sign a deal at Cop27 on advancing clean energy production and sustainable water desalination projects. The signing was also attended Dr Sultan Al Jaber, Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology, Special Envoy for Climate Change as well as John Kerry, US Presidential Special Envoy for Climate Affairs. The deal was signed by Mariam Al Mheiri, Minister of Environment and Climate Change; Mohammed Al Najjar, Jordan's Minister of Water and Irrigation; and Issawi Freij, Minister of Regional Co-operation in Israel. Wam

President of Egypt Abdel Fattah El Sisi meets German Chancellor Olaf Scholz on the sidelines of Cop27 in Sharm El Sheikh. EPA

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy addresses the climate conference via video feed. Getty

Climate activists protest against German Chancellor Olaf Scholz's environmental policies at Cop27. AP

Michael Bloomberg, the UN secretary general's special envoy on climate ambition and solutions, speaks at Cop27 in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt. AP

A delegate poses for a picture during Cop27 at the Sharm El Sheikh International Convention Centre. AFP

Pakistan's Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif speaks at Cop27. AP

Cop27 entered its third day of events in Sharm El Sheikh. EPA

An exhibitions pavilion at the convention centre hosting the conference. AFP

Secretary General Antonio Guterres speaks during a UN expert panel. AFP

Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif addresses the audience. Getty

A Cop27 golden tile installation in the grounds of the green zone. Bloomberg

Shirley Adilson Silva, from Latin American non-profit foundation Fundacion Avina. Reuters

Macky Sall, president of Senegal, speaks at Cop27. AP

A sculpture of a cyclist in the grounds of the green zone area at Cop27. Bloomberg

Members of the Kuwait delegation at Cop27. AP Photo

South Africa's President Cyril Ramaphosa delivers a speech. AFP

Conference participants attend a panel discussion at the Niger pavilion at Cop27. Getty Images

An Egypt wall mural at Cop27. Bloomberg

Ranil Wickremesinghe, president of Sri Lanka, speaks at Cop27. AP Photo

Attendees pass sculptures in the grounds of the green zone area at Cop27. Bloomberg

The China pavilion at Cop27. Bloomberg

Mohamed Al Menfi, chairman of the Tripoli-based Libyan Presidential Council, delivers a speech at Cop27. AFP

Attendees rest during the climate summit. Reuters

President Sheikh Mohamed and Egypt's President Abdel Fattah El Sisi, back centre-right, at the signing of a wind project agreement during Cop27. Also in attendance: Dr Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber, the UAE's Special Envoy for Climate, left, and Deputy Prime Minister Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed, back second-left. Photo: UAE Presidential Court

US Special Presidential Envoy for Climate John Kerry speaks at the opening of the US Pavilion at the Cop27 Climate Summit in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt. AP Photo

Scotland's First Minister Nicola Sturgeon holds batons at the finish line of the Running Out Of Time climate relay, which arrived from Glasgow, Scotland after 40 days to reach Cop27 in Egypt. AP Photo

Polish President Andrzej Duda, right, before speaking at the Cop27 UN Climate Summit. AP Photo

Kuwait delegation members arrive to listen to speakers at Cop27. AP Photo

A member of the Dutch delegation cycles to Cop27. AP Photo

The sun rises over the beach during Cop27. AP Photo