The devastation in Beirut has left nearly 300,000 people without shelter.
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Swiss Solidarity is appealing for donations to help the victims of the August 4 explosion in the port of Beirut, which has claimed more than 220 lives, injured 6,000 people and left nearly 300,000 homeless.
The Lebanese population is now dependent on emergency aid. Swiss Solidarity is intensifying its appeal for donations with the support of the Swiss Broadcasting Corporation, swissinfo.ch’s parent company.
Donations can be made at any time to postal account 10-15000-6 (mention “Lebanon”) or on the Swiss Solidarity websiteExternal link.
Swiss Solidarity’s partner relief organisations were already on the ground helping Syrian refugees, who make up one-fifth of Lebanon’s population. They are now distributing food, water, medical aid and materials to repair homes.
Swiss ambassador injured
Lebanon was in the past called the “the Switzerland of the Middle East”. However, since 2019 the country has been experiencing a major economic crisis. And it has been hit hard by the coronavirus.
Switzerland is sending experts from the Swiss Humanitarian Aid Unit to Beirut, along with material for basic medical care in surgery, paediatrics and obstetrics, seen here being loaded onto a Swiss government airplane on August 14.
Keystone / Adrian Reusser
Now comes the explosion of a cargo of ammonium nitrate in Beirut. Images of the devastation have been seen around the world. The Swiss ambassador to Lebanon, Monika Schmutz Kirgöz, was slightly injured in the blast.
Swiss aid
Switzerland has already donated CHF 500,000 ($554,000) to the Lebanese Red Cross and sent a team of specialists, who will test the stability of buildings in the affected areas.
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Switzerland pledges CHF4 million to support Lebanese
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Some 30 countries and organisations took part in the online fundraising summit on Sunday, which was organized by French President Emmanuel Macron. Switzerland was represented by Manuel Bessler, head of the Swiss Humanitarian Aid Corps, the Swiss foreign ministry told the Keystone-SDA news agency. The money will flow into Lebanon under the supervision of the…
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Switzerland sends team of experts to Beirut
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A group of around 10 experts is headed to Lebanon to support the Swiss embassy in Beirut, which was damaged in the explosion on Tuesday.
Second Swiss humanitarian aid team dispatched to Beirut
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The Swiss Humanitarian Aid Corps workers are accompanied by three damage site experts from the armed forces, the foreign ministry said on Thursday. An initial team of ten Swiss experts, comprising of engineers, infrastructure specialists, a security advisor, a logistician, a telecommunications manager and a psychologist, have been in Lebanon since Thursday to evaluate the…
You can find an overview of ongoing debates with our journalists here. Please join us!
If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.