A serious lack of funding is threatening humanitarian efforts in Libya and neighboring countries, according to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.
UNHCR has so far received $39.4 million in response to its $68.5 million appeal for the Libyan crisis, which aims to address humanitarian needs over the initial three- to four-month period.
“UNHCR is facing a critical shortage of funds for our operations in Libya and neighbouring countries,” the agency said in a statement. “We are calling on donor countries to urgently fund this shortfall.”
Meanwhile, the German government is looking at transferring €6 billion ($8.6 billion) in frozen assets of Moammar Gadhafi’s regime to a United Nations escrow account, Reuters says.
“The United Nations could use it to pay for supplies of humanitarian aid to alleviate the suffering of the population in all of Libya,” German Federal Minister for Economics and Technology Rainer Bruederle said in a government document, as reported by German magazine Der Spiegel.
The Australian government on Sunday (April 17) announced an additional aid of 10 million Australian dollars ($10.5 million) to help those affected by violence in Libya. The funding, which will be channeled through humanitarian organizations, including the International Committee of the Red Cross, brings Australia’s total humanitarian assistance for Libyan crisis victims to AU$25 million.
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