Humanitarian Aid for Lebanon

Good morning. Thank you, Mr. Anwar Wajdi, Deputy Director of the UAE Region for DP World, Mr. Mats Persson, Chief of the Fast IT and Telecoms Emergency and Support Team of the World Food Programme, and Mr. David Hays Smith, Team Leader, Officer of Food for Peace, USAID for agreeing to attend this event today.

I just returned to the UAE last night. In fact, I hurried back because I wanted to be here for this important event.

We are handing over 300 metric tons of lentils as part of the U.S. Government’s commitment of $230 million for humanitarian, reconstruction and security assistance to Lebanon that was announced by President Bush on August 21st.

As President Bush stated, "America will do our part. Our nation is wasting no time in helping the people of Lebanon. We’ve been on the ground in Beirut for weeks, and have already distributed more than half of our $50 million pledge of disaster relief to the Lebanese people who have lost their homes in the current conflict. The aid to support humanitarian and reconstruction work in Lebanon will help the Lebanese people rebuild their homes and return to their towns and communities."

This donation will be utilized to help support the approximately 350,000 people in Lebanon. Individuals most affected by the crisis have been prioritized for assistance, in addition to families who have taken on the extra burden of hosting internally displaced people.

In addition, the U.S. has contributed 700 metric tons of wheat for immediate humanitarian assistance needs and has also announced a donation of 25,000 metric tons of wheat to the Lebanese Government that is scheduled to arrive in September.

The United States commitment to help Lebanon will continue beyond the stage of immediate relief. We will assist in efforts to rebuild key bridges and roads, support the rebuilding of homes and other private infrastructure, support the rehabilitation of schools so that Lebanese children can return to the classroom, and assist the Lebanese Armed Forces and national police to ensure that they can extend government authority throughout the country.

This shipment of lentils represents the reason USAID partnered with the United Arab Emirates to establish this warehouse for relief supplies in Dubai.

Lentils were chosen for this shipment because they are among those commodities the U.S. had available in the region, which ensures expedited distribution.

The 300 metric tons of lentils are enough to help feed approximately 20,000 people for one month.

Some of you might have been here when USAID signed an agreement with the Dubai Port Authority to establish this storage facility in February 2005. Three ships loaded with food and relief supplies were en route to Dubai when the Indian Ocean tsunami struck Indonesia, Thailand, Sri Lanka and other parts of Asia. The ships received permission to change course and proceeded directly to the stricken areas.

The warehouses were designed to hold 30,000 metric tons of foodstuffs, such as rice, vegetable oil and a corn-soy blend designed to provide quick, substantial nutrition to people in need. Also stored in Dubai are emergency relief supplies, such as blankets, tents, plastic sheeting and water purification systems.

Since the opening of this facility, an average of 60,000 metric tons a year are ordered for pre-positioning in Dubai. Just under half of that amount reaches the storage site and over half is re-programmed en route to Dubai to where the supplies are needed.

Through this arrangement, prompt humanitarian response has gone to Afghanistan, Ethiopia, Kenya, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Pakistan, Somalia, Sudan, Swaziland and Zimbabwe.

On behalf of the people of the United States, I want to extend a big thank you to Dubai Ports for the efficient running of this pre-positioning warehouse that helps USAID overcome the many logistical problems faced when disasters strike.

And another big thank you to the World Food Programme for your work and your efforts in the distribution of these vital supplies.