Lebanon received support worth USD 1.9 bln in '16 - UN

BEIRUT, Feb 20 (KUNA) -- Lebanon received international funding amounted to USD 1.9 billion during 2016 to face impacts of the Syrian crisis, UNDP Resident Representative in Lebanon Philippe Lazzarini said.
In a statement on Monday, he noted that the amount includes a total of USD 1.57 billion disbursed by donors in 2016 and USD 344 million carried over from 2015 by of US agencies, the World Bank and non-governmental organizations.
The figures reflect continued rise in international support to the country to face the repercussions of Syrian crisis, he said.
He revealed that the donors also allocated an additional amount of more than USD 1.3 billion committed for 2017 and beyond.
He extolled "strong" international support for Lebanon, but said this funding doesn't cover all needs.
Lazzarini stressed the necessity of backing Lebanon to address deterioration of economic path through investing in main productive sectors, modernizing infrastructure and encouraging structural reforms.
This will benefit both Lebanese people and refugees, help Lebanon better deal with the impact of Syrian crisis, and would make it an anchor for stability and driver for reconstruction in the region, he made clear.
Last month, the Lebanese government launched the Lebanon Crisis Response Plan 2017-20 which confirmed the country's need to international investments ranging between USD 8-10 billion to face the impact of crisis of Syrian refugees on its sectors.
According to UN figures, Lebanon has been hosting more than one million Syrian refugees, while the country said there are more than 1.5 million on its territories. (end) wsm.hm