$113 million from Germany for vulnerable families and refugees

Germany has contributed €100 million ($113 million) to the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) to help it support vulnerable Lebanese families and Syrian refugees in Lebanon.

The contribution, which was made through the German Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development, will allow WFP to continue providing food assistance to over 700,000 Syrian refugees and more than 50,000 Lebanese.

WFP supports the refugees through its electronic food card (e-card) program which allows them to buy from 450 local shops. The Lebanese Government’s National Poverty Targeting Program is using similar e-cards to provide food assistance for Lebanese families.

German Ambassador Martin Huth said last May that his country’s support to Lebanon will reach $340 million in 2016. Germany’s assistance amounted to more than $160 million last year.

WFP, the world's largest humanitarian agency fighting hunger, assists nearly 80 million people in about 80 countries on a yearly basis.

The program will be funded by WFP from July until the end of the year.