The outgoing Federal Development Aid Minister Frank Vandenbroucke (Flemish socialist) has announced additional funding for humanitarian aid to help the people of Lebanon. He did so on Thursday at an international donor conference in Paris. The additional 2 million euro in aid from Belgium will be used to address the basic needs of the people in the areas impacted by the conflict.
Belgium gives 2 million euro in additional humanitarian aid to help the people of Lebanon
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At the beginning of October, Belgium delivered medical equipment worth 150,000 euro to Lebanese public hospitals. On Wednesday, the Belgian government announced that it was sending medical equipment worth 100,000 euro, as well as accommodation and shelters worth 80,000 euro.
The 2 million euro’s worth of aid announced on Thursday is intended to meet basic needs and guarantee the incomes of the most vulnerable, in particular the more than 1.5 million displaced persons and refugees who have been driven from their homes by the conflict. Speaking in Paris, Mr Vandenbroucke called for respect for international humanitarian law and for an immediate halt to attacks on humanitarian workers and medical facilities.
Belgium also calls for an immediate ceasefire, condemns Israel's attacks on UNIFIL peacekeepers in southern Lebanon and for the full implementation of UN Security Council resolutions aimed at guaranteeing Lebanon's territorial integrity and the functioning of its institutions.
On 1 October, Mr Vandenbroucke, who is also the outgoing Federal Health Minister, took over his party colleague Caroline Gennez’s ministerial responsibilities, including development aid. Ms Gennez left the federal government to become a minister in the Flemish government.