BEIRUT: Lebanon’s share of the $3.8 billion in aid pledged at an international donors’ conference for Syrian relief in Kuwait has yet to be determined, Social Affairs Minister Rashid Derbas said Wednesday.
“This issue will be studied by the UNHCR, relevant agencies, and U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon,” Derbas told The Daily Star. “If we get $800 million, that will be good,” he added.
Some 78 countries and 40 international aid organizations were present at the Kuwaiti conference.
The financial aid is aimed at helping Syria’s neighbors deal with the strain of hosting millions of refugees. But the pledges fall far short of the $8.4 billion requested by the U.N.
Lebanon hosts around 1.5 million Syrian refugees, and the influx has put immense pressure on its already feeble infrastructure and struggling economy.
Delivering an address at the conference Tuesday, Prime Minister Tammam Salam said his government had prepared a plan with costs “amounting to over $1 billion,” to help Lebanon cope with the crisis.
His figure was in line with the Crisis Response Plan for 2015 and 2016, prepared by the government in cooperation with international organizations, with costs projected to total $2.1 billion.
Derbas said he expected Lebanon’s share of the aid would be determined within a month.
“We need to follow up on the issue with the UNHCR, Kuwait, and other donor states,” he added.
More than a quarter of the total came from two countries: Kuwait, which hosted the third annual conference and pledged half a billion dollars, and the United States, which promised the largest single commitment of $507 million.
More than $118 million of the funding from the U.S. will be used to assist with the refugee crisis in Lebanon, according to a statement by the U.S. Embassy Tuesday.
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