US Provides $4Mln in COVID-19 Assistance to Libya

People cross a street at Martyrs Square in Tripoli, Libya, July 5, 2021. (Reuters)
People cross a street at Martyrs Square in Tripoli, Libya, July 5, 2021. (Reuters)
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US Provides $4Mln in COVID-19 Assistance to Libya

People cross a street at Martyrs Square in Tripoli, Libya, July 5, 2021. (Reuters)
People cross a street at Martyrs Square in Tripoli, Libya, July 5, 2021. (Reuters)

The United States said it is providing four million dollars in additional COVID-19 assistance for Libya through the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).

This new funding will provide technical assistance, equipment and supplies to support Libya’s National Vaccine and Deployment plan and mitigate the spread of COVID-19, said the US embassy in Libya.

“We are pleased to be able to work in partnership with the Libyan government and Libyan people to respond to this unprecedented global pandemic and strengthen the response capacities needed to forestall or mitigate future crises,” said USAID Mission Director John Pennell.

This additional assistance from the historic American Rescue Plan brings the US contribution to confront the pandemic in Libya to more than $20 million from regular and supplemental appropriations since the start of the pandemic, he added.

This assistance has supported the Libyan government and civil society to respond to immediate public health needs, provide emergency assistance to Libya’s most vulnerable communities, and support its economic recovery, the embassy noted.

The US reiterated its commitment to “partnering with Libya to end the COVID-19 pandemic, respond to its social and economic impacts and build back a world that is even better prepared for future health emergencies.”

Libya has recorded 360,000 infections since the beginning of the pandemic, including about 305,000 recoveries, health authorities announced.



Almost Half of Attacks on Heath Care in Lebanon Have Been Deadly, WHO Says

Smoke rises as a result of an Israeli airstrike on the village of Al-Khiyam in southern Lebanon, as seen from the Israeli side of the border, northern Israel, 22 November 2024, amid cross-border hostilities between Hezbollah and Israel. (EPA)
Smoke rises as a result of an Israeli airstrike on the village of Al-Khiyam in southern Lebanon, as seen from the Israeli side of the border, northern Israel, 22 November 2024, amid cross-border hostilities between Hezbollah and Israel. (EPA)
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Almost Half of Attacks on Heath Care in Lebanon Have Been Deadly, WHO Says

Smoke rises as a result of an Israeli airstrike on the village of Al-Khiyam in southern Lebanon, as seen from the Israeli side of the border, northern Israel, 22 November 2024, amid cross-border hostilities between Hezbollah and Israel. (EPA)
Smoke rises as a result of an Israeli airstrike on the village of Al-Khiyam in southern Lebanon, as seen from the Israeli side of the border, northern Israel, 22 November 2024, amid cross-border hostilities between Hezbollah and Israel. (EPA)

The World Health Organization says nearly half of the attacks on health care in Lebanon have been deadly since the Middle East conflict erupted in October last year, the highest such rate anywhere in the world.

The UN health agency says 65 out of 137, or 47%, of recorded “attacks on health care” in Lebanon over that time period have proven fatal to at least one person, and often many more.

WHO’s running global tally counts attacks, whether deliberate or not, that affect places like hospitals, clinics, medical transport, and warehouses for medical supplies, as well as medics, doctors, nurses and the patients they treat.

Nearly half of attacks on health care in Lebanon since last October and the majority of deaths occurred since an intensified Israeli military campaign began against Hezbollah in the country two months ago.

The health agency said 226 health workers and patients have been killed and 199 injured in Lebanon between Oct. 7, 2023 and this Monday.