Palestinians in Lebanon: Commission funds medical aid

Palestinians living in camps within Lebanon have scant access to medical care partly due to the chronically underfunded structures run by the Palestinian Red Cross. European Union will help relieve the pressure with a grant of 1.3 million ECU to be spent over the next six months.

The European Community Humanitarian Office (ECHO) will work with the Netherlands Red Cross, Medical Aid for Palestinians (Britain), Comitato Internazionale per lo Sviluppo dei Popoli (Italy), and the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the near East.

The aim of the programme is to provide medicines and medical supplies, to rehabilitate hospitals, and to improve water supplies and sanitation.

According to UN statistics, about 350,000 people whose situation has deteriorated drastically since the Gulf War should benefit from this project.