The UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) is soon to form a partnership with the World Food Program (WFP), also an agency of the United Nations, to step up humanitarian assistance for food security among Libyan-based refugees, UNHCR spokesperson in Libya Caroline Gluck told Sputnik
MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 29th May, 2020) The UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) is soon to form a partnership with the World Food Program (WFP), also an agency of the United Nations, to step up humanitarian assistance for food security among Libyan-based refugees, UNHCR spokesperson in Libya Caroline Gluck told Sputnik.
Refugees, asylum seekers and internally displaced persons in Libya depend heavily on wage work and many can afford to buy food only on a daily basis. According to the UNHCR, after the Libyan government imposed curfews and food prices skyrocketed as a result of the coronavirus pandemic, many of these people were unable to find any daily work to support themselves.
"We will shortly be entering a partnership with sister agency, WFP, so that we can provide food baskets targeting thousands more vulnerable refugees for the remainder of the year," Gluck said.
This will come atop a set of measures undertaken by the UNHCR in Libya to increase the food security of refugees and asylum seekers make it through the pandemic.
According to Gluck, the UNHCR distributed emergency food assistance during the Muslim holy fasting month of Ramadan, reaching more than 8,000 people, including more than 3,000 displaced people. Other distributions have included the provision of pre-paid "cash cards" for displaced Libyans, allowing them to purchase goods at more than 2,000 stores.
"All our distributions have been adapted to avoid large crowds and ensure social distancing," Gluc said.
It applies not only to food distribution but also to all other forms of assistance that the UNHCR provides in Libya, the spokeswoman said.
This includes keeping the agency's Community Day Centre and Registration Centre open during the pandemic � with premises disinfected and stocked by masks and sanitizers � to provide health, registration and protection services to limited numbers of persons on an appointment-only basis as well as for emergency cases.
The UNHCR has also distributed hygiene kits in Libyan detention facilities, where around 800 refugees and asylum seekers are being held in often overcrowded and unsanitary conditions, with Gluck saying that the agency "continues to advocate for their release into urban settings."
"Our COVID-19 response includes assistance to support the Libyan health authorities in our operational areas in the country, including Misrata and Benghazi. We have provided generators, ambulances, medical tents and prefab containers," the UNHCR spokeswoman said.
All this goes alongside large-scale measures aimed at awareness raising and phone counseling service that Gluck said the UNHCR continues providing to displaced communities in Libya.
According to the UNHCR estimate, the almost a decade-long civil conflict in Libya between two rival administrations has left the country with 43,113 refugees and asylum-seekers and some 217,000 internally displaced persons.
