Anera’s Lebanon Emergency Response

In 1st of up to 20 shipments of medical donations, 56-ton planeload landed in Beirut today. US NGO is also rehabilitating homes, distributing food, water and hygiene kits.

August 24, 2020 | Beirut – Anera is organizing emergency medical donations shipments of a volume and value unprecedented in the organization’s history. The effort comes in response to the explosion in Beirut on August 4.

In the next month, Anera will be sending, from the US, UK and Canada, 12 shipments – nine by air and three by sea – to Lebanon, with another 12 air and sea shipments in discussion. The medicines and medical supplies include items for immediate emergency medical response, personal protective equipment against COVID, and chronic medicines that help to fill persistent shortages at hospitals and primary health clinics.

The collective dollar value of the medicines and medical supplies that Anera is delivering in August through October in response to the blast exceeds the value of the organization’s annual shipments to the whole region for any previous year. The surge in donations is made possible through Anera’s partnerships with AirLink, the American Task Force for Lebanon, Americares, CMMB, Direct Relief, FedEx, Health Partners International Canada, International Health Partners UK, Jobs for Lebanon, Johnson & Johnson, Lebanon Relief Campaign, MedWish International, Manal and Ghassan Saab, The Afya Foundation, USAID and the US Embassy Beirut, Wheels to Heal and others – and is also thanks to the outpouring of support from individuals around the world. Anera’s broader response also includes rehabilitating homes and small businesses and plans to rehabilitate schools and clinics, and distributing  food, water and hygiene kits.

Anera President and CEO, Sean Carroll, who arrived in Beirut in the days following the blast, said,

“We are seeing an unprecedented response from around the world in solidarity with the people of Beirut and Lebanon, and support for recovery. The horrific blast, coming on top of an economic crisis, the pandemic, and growing unemployment, poverty and food and health insecurity, could not have come at a worse time. With this response, we can help address immediate and medium-term needs, and we will ensure that these donations go to where they are most-needed.”

Lina Atat, Anera’s medical donation program coordinator in Lebanon, said of a 56-ton shipment organized in partnership with Direct Relief and the American Task Force for Lebanon that landed at Beirut airport this afternoon,

“This is the first time Anera has brought into Lebanon an entire plane filled with medicines and medical supplies. The needs are overwhelming, and the response is heartening, so we hope and believe this will be the first of many.”

Last year, Anera delivered more than 105 tons of medical donations to Palestine and Lebanon, valued at $85 million. Anera estimates that the tonnage and value of medical donations in response to the Beirut blast will surpass last year’s totals for the region as a whole.

For more information:

In Beirut:

Serene Dardari
Communications Manager
+961.1.382590
[email protected]

In Washington, D.C.:

Steven Fake
Media Relations Officer
+1 202.266.9719
[email protected]

About Anera
For 52 years, Anera has helped refugees and others hurt by conflicts in the Middle East live with dignity and purpose. Anera, which has no political or religious affiliation, works on the ground with partners in the West Bank, Gaza, East Jerusalem, Lebanon, and Jordan. We mobilize resources for immediate humanitarian relief and for sustainable health, education, and economic development efforts. Our staff are from the communities they serve, navigating the politics that constrict progress to get help where it’s needed most. We will keep building better lives until hope finds its way in the Middle East.