UN Allocates $15Mln To Help Lebanon After Devastating Blast In Beirut - OCHA

MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 08th August, 2020) The United Nations has allocated $15 million to support Lebanon after the huge explosion that devastated the capital of Beirut, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said.

"UN humanitarian chief Mark Lowcock has released $6 million from the UN Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF) to help the response to the Beirut port blast, bringing the total UN funding for this crisis to $15 million," the OCHA said in a statement on late Friday.

The allocated money will fund trauma care and other support to hospitals, shelters for the most vulnerable groups of people as well as logistical support.

On Tuesday, the massive explosion took place at the port of Beirut, killing at least 154 people and injuring about 5,000. The Lebanese authorities said the explosion was caused by the igniting of 2,750 tonnes of ammonium nitrate stored in the Beirut port since 2014.