The Lebanese Center for Human Rights (CLDH) is a local non-profit, non-partisan Lebanese human rights organization in Beirut that was established by the Franco-Lebanese Movement SOLIDA (Support for Lebanese Detained Arbitrarily) in 2006. SOLIDA has been active since 1996 in the struggle against arbitrary detention, enforced disappearance and the impunity of those perpetrating gross human violations.

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January 9, 2015

NNA - UNICEF Lebanon: 11.5 million dollars winter supplies to help children most affected by the storm, January 09, 2015

Displaced children from Syria living in flimsy makeshift tents at high altitudes have been struggling to cope - and even survive - as the winter storm Zina brought unrelenting freezing winds, heavy rains, and snow to Lebanon. UNICEF and its NGO partners have been distributing pre-positioned winter clothes for children, blankets, tarpaulins, and high energy biscuits, reaching 75,000 Syrian, Lebanese, and Palestine refugee children in the most affected areas so far. Emergency mobile health teams, alongside the continuing Mobile Medical Units have treated over 1,600 patients in the informal settlements.


"Our teams and local implementing partners have been working around the clock to address the impact of the storm on the most vulnerable children and families," said Annamaria Laurini, UNICEF Representative in Lebanon. "Every single effort needs to be made immediately to avoid unnecessary tragedies that could be prevented."


During the last 72 hours, with the Ministry of Public Health, and the local NGO Beyond Association, UNICEF funded Mobile Medical Units have been going from settlement to settlement, where access has been possible. At least 1,600 patients have been consulted from tent to tent and many health cases among children related to the cold temperatures, including flu, fever and skin diseases were treated.


This winter UNICEF will spend USD 11.5 million dollars alone to assist 456,500 vulnerable Syrian, Lebanese, and Palestine refugee children: 160,000 children will receive winter clothes kits; 135,000 children winter clothing vouchers; 155,000 children will benefit from fuel for heating in 583 public schools; 6,500 children from flood mitigation measures in informal settlements.


Due to this week's storm, key roads and highways were blocked with snow, hindering delivery trucks and mobile medical units from reaching badly affected areas. Deliveries have resumed and more winter supplies will be handed out over the weekend and next week, while mobile medical teams have resumed their activities.


UNICEF Lebanon has been preparing for winter since October, and prepositioned 28,000 winter kits in the Bekaa, Aarsal, and Akkar. Drainage kits for over 20,000 people were distributed to mitigate flooding in Informal Settlements, as well as plastic sheeting stocks for an emergency response.


At the same time, the number of vulnerable children in need has been growing on a daily basis. More and more displaced Syrians have run out of savings, and are having to resort to desperate measures - moving to tented settlements as a last resort.


From mid-December, UNICEF Lebanon and its partners have distributed some 70,000 winter kits with clothes to help keep children warm including 22,000 in Aarsal, 42,000 in the Bekaa Valley, as well as in the North and the South. In addition, 8,000 tarpaulins, 400 drainage kits benefitting some 20,000 people.


Today and tomorrow, additional winter kits, blankets, tarpaulins, boxes of high energy biscuits, jerry cans, sanitation/ drainage kits and women's clothes will be distributed.

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