Food for Nahr El Bared

This note comes to us thanks to Relief Web:

Basque Government donation aids food security in Nahr El Bared

The Basque Government has contributed US$192,308 over the past year towards UNRWA's Relief and Early Recovery Appeal to provide humanitarian relief work for 27,000 refugees displaced from Nahr El Bared Camp.

The donation was used to procure food items between September 2007 and August 2008, to complement the food assistance for displaced refugee families from Nahr El Bared.

The project contributed to the ongoing UNRWA intervention to ensure food security for all of the families from Nahr El Bared and ensure that all of the families affected by the Nahr el-Bared conflict are able to maintain basic nutritional standards. Addressing the problem of food accessibility, potentially reduces the burden on overstretched healthcare providers, and relieves tensions amongst the community. It also allows families to redeploy their resources towards restoring their livelihood.

This project was part of the Emergency Appeal, which ran from September 2007 to 31 August 2008. UNRWA is seeking further support from donors for Nahr El Bared and launched the Recovery and Early Recovery Appeal in September 2008. This is an appeal for $42.7 million to maintain temporary services- up to December 2009 – for the displaced pending reconstruction. Interventions include temporary shelter for 16,000 refugees and emergency food rations for all 27,000 displaced as well as other essential services such as temporary healthcare, education, water and sanitation.

The first stages of a major reconstruction and recovery effort of Nahr el-Bared camp – to rebuild the camp and allow displaced refugees to return to their homes – are now underway. A phased approach to reconstruction is planned, through which families will begin to return to their homes inside the camp by the end of 2009. The reconstruction is due to be completed by mid-2011.

Just in case you want to know, Nahr el-Bared is a Palestinian refugee camp located in northern Lebanon.

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