Libya needs $4.3 million extra in humanitarian aid

After stretching aid provision in most of Libya’s conflict hit regions, humanitarian agencies now claim that their resources are getting depleted and need extra resources.

The organisations fear the situation could get worse and have appealed for an extra 4.3 million U.S. dollar aid to push the total budget to 14 million dollars.

The head of International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), Katja Lorenz, has raised a red flag over the prevailing humanitarian condition in Libya.

“We’ve increased our assistance distributing food and non-food items to internally displaced people. We have increased our support health structures and hospitals in order to enable them to treat the people who are wounded as a result of the fighting, which means we’ve actually used up what we had originally planned for the whole year. Which means that if we want to continue our current response to humanitarian needs, we need to ask for extra resources,” said Katja Lorenz.

According to the United Nations, a humanitarian appeal to aid 1.3 million vulnerable people in conflict-torn Libya is 99 percent unfunded and have called on the international community to step up to the plate.

Over 240 kilometres southeast of Misrata is Jufra camp that accomodates over 1,200 people. Their living condition is unpleasing. Unsanitary condition, lack of water and other basic needs has engulfed over 200 families that inhabit the camp.

This is the only toilet at a displaced camp in Jufra, #Libya. It’s shared by 200 families. They made it themselves. pic.twitter.com/5TkE4EocJG

— ICRC (@ICRC) June 7, 2016

Many families have since complained about the dilapidated state of their livelihood.

“Above all the families here have nothing. They have nothing at all”, said one displaced person, Mohamed. “The camp is dirty and full of mosquitos and rats. There is no hygiene and no toilets. We want toilets. We want assistance,” added another displaced person, Hassan.

Security problem has been compounded by the Islamic State, which established a foothold in Libya amid political chaos and conflict in the North African state, creating its most significant base outside Iraq and Syria, and gaining control over cities like Sirte last year.