14/09/2015

PM Begins Lebanon Visit

The Prime Minister is to visit Lebanon to see at "first hand how UK aid is helping the most vulnerable people who have been driven from their homes in Syria".

While making the official visit, Mr Cameron will also announce an additional £100 million to help Syrian refugees, including £40 million to be used in the region surrounding Syria.

The £40 million will be allocated to the UN and NGO (non-governmental organisation) partners working in Lebanon, Jordan and Turkey, including British aid agencies like Save the Children, providing shelter, food, relief packages, health and protection services, as well as cash assistance – giving individuals the freedom to decide how best to cover their needs.

Up to £29 million will go to Lebanon – host to 1.1 million Syrian refugees, or over a quarter of Lebanon’s population. The aid will help refugees and impoverished host communities cope, helping to reduce tensions between those communities and lower the risk of conflict in Lebanon which, if it broke out, could lead to more displacement of people who may look to come to Europe.

The Prime Minister said: "As the second largest bilateral donor to the humanitarian crisis in Syria our aid effort is supporting thousands of people to rebuild their lives, providing protection, counselling and schooling, alongside the provision of basic food and water. Investment in health, education, jobs and stability is the most effective way to help people overseas, and it is clearly in Britain’s interests.

"Around 3% of the 11 million Syrians forced from their homes have sought asylum in Europe, and without British aid hundreds of thousands more could be risking their lives seeking to get to Europe, so these funds are part of our comprehensive approach to tackle migration from the region.

"For thousands of refugees this money means a meal for their families, the security of a home with basic sanitation and clean water, and for children it means an education so we don’t lose a generation to the Syrian conflict.

"Our goal remains to support the development of a secure, stable and peaceful Syria. Without our investment in international development, the numbers of people seeking to embark on a perilous journey to Europe would be far greater."

(MH/CD)

Related UK National News Stories
Click here for the latest headlines.

07 August 2003
UN calls for $69m Liberian aid package
The UN has launched a $69 million emergency aid appeal for war-torn Liberia – and so alleviate the suffering of nearly one million refugees.
26 August 2004
Funding shortfall threatens Sudan aid operations
The UN has today appealed for desperately needed funds to fill a huge shortfall in aid for Sudan, which has seen mass displacement in the crisis-hit Darfur region, and a flood of refugees returning to its war-ravaged south.
19 October 2011
Millions Affected By Tax Blunder
Millions of UK tax payers will be told they have paid the wrong amount of tax, with some being handed a £400 rebate while others will be hit by £600 in back payments.
24 July 2007
Media centres launched to help homeless youths
A network of ten media training centres, which aim to give hundreds of young homeless people the skills to take up jobs in the media and music industries, have been launched by Communities Minister Iain Wright.
24 January 2006
Two million people 'risking their sight'
More than two million people in the UK are at risk of needlessly losing their sight through treatable eye conditions, according to a new report. The Royal National Institute for the Blind (RNIB) said that 1.9 million people with diabetes and 250,000 people with early-stage glaucoma are unknowingly risking blindness.