Kuwait City: A plane carrying 36 tonnes of medicine, wheelchairs, baby milk and blood bags, organized by the Kuwait Red Crescent, arrived in Lebanon on Thursday in response to the Beirut blast.
The explosion that occurred in beirut on Tuesday evening killed at least 113, injured 5,000 and left hundreds of thousands Lebanese homeless.
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The head of Kuwait’s Red Crescent, Dr. Hilal Al Sayer, said in a statement that the plane carrying the humanitarian and medical aid is an order from His Highness the Deputy Emir and Crown Prince Sheikh Nawaf Al Ahmed Al Jaber Al Sabah.
Providing relief
Dr. Al Sayer traveled to Lebanon with his team to strengthen its field presence in Lebanon and ensure the distribution of the medical aid, in cooperation with the Kuwaiti embassy in Lebanon and the Lebanese Red Cross. Medicine has been delivered to hospitals and volunteers are in the group to provide relief.
The Kuwait Red Crescent is evaluating the situation on the ground and will be sending additional aid in the days to come.
In addition, the Undersecretary of the Ministry of Social Affairs, Abdulaziz Shuaib, announced that the ministry will coordinate with civil societies and charitable organizations to provide aid and relief to the Lebanese people.
Many Kuwaiti organizations rushed to raise money for the Lebanese people. One local organization, Heritage Living Society, launched a campaign, “Lebanon is calling”, to raise 100,000 Kuwaiti dinars ($300,000) in the first round of donations. The campaign aims to provide urgent relief, treatment for the injured, medical assistance, food, water and shelter for those affected.
Medical assistance
Hours after the blast, Kuwait issued an Emiri decree to send medical assistance to Lebanon. The aid, sent on a military plane, arrived in Lebanon Wednesday morning.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs said, “Kuwait expresses great sorrow and pain after the huge explosion that occurred yesterday, which led to the killing and wounding of dozens, in addition to huge material losses. Kuwait supports Lebanon and sends its sincere condolences and sympathy to the families of the victims and wishes for those suffering a speedy recovery.”
Kuwait Minister of Health, Basel Al Sabah spoke to the Lebanese health minister to express his sorrow.
On Wednesday night, the Kuwait Towers and the Jaber Al Ahmad Cultural Centre (JACC) lit up in the Lebanese flag, illustrating Kuwait’s support towards the Lebanese people.
