Humanitarian assistance is still relevant in eastern Ukraine. The United Nations reports that 3.1 million people are in need of emergency aid, particularly health services, food, clean water, sanitation and shelter. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Lithuania will allocate humanitarian aid to the International Committee of the Red Cross. Lithuania has already allocated EUR 1.1 million in humanitarian help to Ukraine since the beginning of the conflict, out of which EUR 256,6 thousand were provided by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Lithuania.
Bearing in mind the exceptional role of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) in providing assistance to more than 5 million Palestine refugees, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Lithuania allocated EUR 20,000 to the organization. UNRWA provides assistance and support to Palestine refugees, who live in 58 recognized Palestine refugee camps in Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, Gaza and the West Bank, including East Jerusalem. UNRWA also maintains schools, health centres and distribution centres in areas outside the recognized camps. Since 2013, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Lithuania has already allocated EUR 87.4 thousand to the organization.
On 4-5 October 2016, Hurricane Matthew hit Haiti. More than 1.4 million people require immediate humanitarian assistance. Tens of thousands of people lost their homes, the infrastructure was destroyed, the people are suffering from a lack of drinking water and food, a number of cases of cholera rises quickly. The hurricane sparked fears of an outbreak of other infectious diseases. Haiti is one of the world’s poorest countries. It was hit hard by an earthquake in 2010 and is still recovering from it. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Lithuania will allocate funds to the World Food Programme for humanitarian assistance to Haiti.
Thus Lithuania contributes to the international effort to provide immediate humanitarian assistance to address impacts of conflicts and natural disasters.
