UN poured over $300 million into local economy

Purchases went to aid
Syrian refugees

UN agencies have purchased their goods and services for Syrian relief aid, from local industries, especially small and medium enterprises. “Six international organizations from the United Nations have spent, in 2013, more than $300 million in the local market,” said Nada Barakat, National Project Coordinator at The United Nation Industrial Development organization (UNIDO). “Our aim is to stabilize and consolidate the economic businesses here, in order to have better conditions for investments,” said the UNIDO representative.

The United Nations Development program (UNDP), has spent around $4 million on goods. They included IT products, electricity equipment, office furniture, agricultural merchandise and others.
For the more than 900,000 registered Syrian refugees in Lebanon, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) has spent $28 million. Procurement was used for hygiene kits, IT equipment, security services, rental vehicles, health services and mattresses.

“Food paper voucher program, food parcels and project voucher for Syrians refugees were our main operating costs,” said Nassif Ksayer, Procurement Services at the World Food Programme (WFP). This organization injected over US$ 127 million in local economy.

“We launched the procurement department last year in Lebanon due to the Syrian crisis,” said Hussein Moursel, Supply Logistics officer at UNICEF. The agency’s costs are divided into local procurement, and offshore ones, which are for medicine purchases, outside the country. The UNICEF total procurement was $20 million.