Kuwait City: With fuel, medical supplies and food becoming scarce by the day, Kuwait announced on Saturday evening that it is sending eight tons of urgent medical aid to Lebanon.
The Kuwaiti Red Crescent Society (KRCS) stated that the aid will be handed over to the Lebanese Ministry of Health, who will distribute the aid directly to hospitals.
Abdulrahman Al Aoun, Director General of the KRCS pointed out that the emergency shipment contains medical supplies, formula for children, COVID-19 vaccines and an ambulance to the Lebanese Red Crescent.
He added that the supplies are also meant to go to Syrian and Palestinian refugees living in Lebanon.
Kuwait’s donation comes as Lebanon is facing a worsening economic crisis that is deteriorating fast. Prices for basic commodities like bread, diapers and medicine have skyrocketed in the past month. On top of that, the government announced that they have halted fuel subsidies, which has plunged the country into even a bigger crisis as fuel is vital for operating generators and filling up car tanks.
On Saturday, the American University of Beirut’s (AUB) Medical centre stated that they will be running out of electricity by Monday, which will lead to 40 adults and 15 children dying as they will be taken off respirators, unless they are supplied with diesels to run its generators.
The country is grappling to keep the economy afloat, while also trying to curb the spread of COVID-19 and recover from the deadly Beirut blast which took place a year ago claiming the lives of 216 people, injuring thousands and displacing over 300,000.
