On Tuesday 6 December, the European Commission announced a new envelope of €138.85 million for Lebanon and Jordan regarding the refugee crisis, and for stabilisation in Iraq. The funding comes from the EU's trust fund for Syria.
Around €62 million of this funding will be allocated to a health programme for Syrian refugees and vulnerable Lebanese people. The programme is expected to contribute, among other things, to strengthening capacities in the healthcare sector, and to enabling refugees and their host communities to benefit from equal access to health services. Around €20 million will be used to improve access to sustainable water supplies, sanitation and hygiene service for Syrian refugees and Lebanese host communities.
Iraq will benefit from €50 million, divided between several projects that support socio-economic opportunities with a view to stabilising the country. "The programme will significantly scale up the EU's contribution to stabilising Iraq, especially in areas liberated from ISIL/Da'esh so that displaced populations can return to their homes. The focus is on demining and creating economic opportunities and livelihoods", the Commission states in a press release.
In addition to these programmes, the EU will contribute a maximum of €5 million to the concessional financing facility for Jordan and Lebanon, which is led by the World Bank in order to support alternative investment resources for Jordan and Lebanon. Around €1.85 million will be made available for an external monitoring and evaluation mechanism to continuously check the performance of the EU trust fund in real time. (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant)