USAID’s Acting Administrator Visits Beirut for Humanitarian Relief
U.S. Government provides $18 million in humanitarian assistance for the Lebanese people after last week’s explosions
Following the catastrophic explosions at the Port of Beirut, USAID Acting Administrator John Barsa visited Lebanon this week to assess the situation on the ground and observe efforts to respond to the disaster.
The Aug. 4 explosion killed more than 200 people and injured thousands more, while devastating the city center. On Friday, USAID deployed a Disaster Assistance Response Team to Beirut to lead the U.S. Government humanitarian response. The team is now on the ground coordinating response efforts, assessing needs, and working closely with humanitarian partners to provide critical assistance to people affected.
In Beirut, Barsa met with U.S. Ambassador to Lebanon Dorothy Shea to discuss the U.S. Government’s support for the Lebanese people after the explosion, which now totals $18 million in assistance. This amount includes $15 million in life-saving humanitarian aid provided by USAID, with additional funding from the U.S. Department of Defense.
The assistance in response to the explosions is in addition to the $41.6 million the United States has already contributed to bolster Lebanon’s efforts to fight the COVID-19 pandemic.
Barsa visited the port to survey damage caused by the explosion, as well as an emergency food-distribution site managed by the World Food Programme, which the United States is funding through USAID to provide food assistance to support 300,000 people affected by the explosions.
“I was saddened to hear that [World Food Programme] employees stationed in Beirut were injured during the explosions,” Barsa wrote in a tweet. “USAID stands by our longtime partner and applauds the resilience of their staff and team. I am honored to work alongside them.”
On Tuesday, Barsa oversaw the arrival of U.S.-funded emergency medical kits provided through USAID and airlifted to Beirut by the U.S. Department of Defense. These supplies can support up to 60,000 people for three months, and contain medicines and medical supplies — such as bandages, gauze, examination gloves, thermometers, and syringes— designed to enable local hospitals to address the critical medical needs of the victims of the explosion.
During his visit, Barsa announced that the American University of Beirut and the Lebanese American University (LAU) will receive nearly $4 million through USAID’s Office of American Schools and Hospitals Abroad. The funding will provide much-needed diagnostic and surgical equipment and restore the medical and pharmaceutical laboratories at LAU after the destruction caused by the explosion.
Barsa also announced that USAID will increase its financial support to civil society groups in Lebanon by 30 percent for the upcoming year — to more than $6 million — to expand our efforts to improve transparency, increase accountability, and fight corruption.
While in Beirut, the acting administrator reiterated the U.S. Government’s commitment to the people of Lebanon as they seek relief, immediate reform, transparency, and accountability in this difficult time. The American people remain committed to our long-standing support for the Lebanese people and their pursuit of economic prosperity and citizen-responsible, accountable governance, free of corruption and foreign pressure.
Before leaving Beirut, Barsa made a stop at a Lebanese Red Cross blood donation site.
“I’m thankful for the opportunity to personally help Lebanon with my own blood donation after seeing so much pain and suffering,” Barsa wrote in a tweet. “It gives me great purpose to know that this donation may save the life of one of my Lebanese brothers or sisters.”
Learn more about USAID’s humanitarian response to the Port of Beirut explosion and USAID’s work in Lebanon.
