Humanitarian Response to Violence in Libya

U.S. Government Announces $17 Million in Additional Humanitarian Assistance; Total Now $47 Million

The United States continues to be a leader in supporting the work of international agencies in the region and coordinating with international and multilateral donors and partners.

The new funds include a $10 million contribution toward the United Nations World Food Program’s emergency food operations and $2 million to the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees in response to the United Nations Regional Flash Appeal for the Libyan Crisis, and $5 million to the International Committee of the Red Cross.

The United States is now providing a total of $47 million in emergency assistance for the humanitarian needs of conflict victims, vulnerable migrants, and others displaced by the increasing civil unrest in Libya.

Assistance, Evacuation and Repatriation

Third country nationals who have fled the violence in Libya continue to require evacuation to their home countries. The United States is working with these countries, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) and other international partners to assist these people to go home.

The United States is now providing:

- $13 million to IOM to support the transportation of thousands people from Africa, South Asia, and Southeast Asia who fled Libya and are now in Tunisia and Egypt.

- $7 million to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), which is working in both Tunisia and Egypt, including managing the transit center in Tunisia near the Tunisia-Libya border that is currently providing basic services to thousands of migrants; and

- $7 million for the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) to assist their efforts in meeting humanitarian needs in the region arising from the unrest and armed confrontations in Libya. This work includes medical and surgical care and other emergency needs such as water and sanitation.

The U.S. government has also provided military flights to repatriate close to 800 Egyptian nationals from Tunisia to Egypt, and to deliver emergency relief commodities to the Tunisian Red Crescent.

Humanitarian Response inside Libya

As part of the $47 million, the United States has set aside up to $10 million to support international and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) working to meet humanitarian needs. We are directly funding key NGOs operating inside Libya, building their capacity and strengthening the provision of humanitarian assistance. These funds are ensuring that health facilities in eastern Libya have adequate medical supplies and staff, and are enabling the emergency distribution of blankets, hygiene kits, and water containers in Benghazi.

The United States has delivered two Emergency Health Kits for onward transport to locations inside Libya. Each of these kits, which are packed to UN World Health Organization (WHO) standards, contains basic medications and supplies to treat diseases common in humanitarian crises and will meet the primary healthcare needs of 10,000 people for three months. We have purchased five additional health kits and are prepared to send them forward as needed.

We are also providing funds to the WHO for its emergency health response in Libya, covering medical supplies, basic services, health needs and early warning and response system for epidemic prone diseases.

Food Assistance

The United States has approved a $10 million contribution, more than a quarter of the $39.2 million requested toward the United Nations World Food Program (WFP)’s emergency food operations in response to the United Nations Regional Flash Appeal for the Libyan Crisis.

This U.S. contribution will help WFP respond to immediate food requirements of those who have fled Libya into Tunisia and Egypt, and to pre-position food to assist those who are most vulnerable to a deterioration of humanitarian conditions within Libya, and help alleviate the economic impact of the crisis on the most vulnerable communities in Tunisia It consists of a combination of cash support for WFP, which will enable local procurement to meet the most immediate needs, and in-kind deliveries of food to be made available for distribution within Libya based on emergency needs as they arise.

U.S. Government Disaster Assistance Response Team

The United States has deployed a Disaster Assistance Response Team (DART) to the region. In addition to identifying humanitarian needs on the ground, this team of disaster assistance specialists is helping to coordinate the international efforts to ensure the people suffering from this crisis are provided humanitarian assistance as quickly as possible. U.S. Embassy personnel in Tunis and Cairo are also fully engaged in working to address humanitarian needs.

An International Effort

The United States is committed to working with the United Nations, the European Union and other European partners, the Arab League, the African Union and Libya’s neighbors to respond to humanitarian needs. U.S. support for IOM, UNHCR, the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) and WFP are direct contributions to projects contained in the Regional Flash Appeal for the Libyan Crisis.