Germany adds €5m to UNDP Lebanon programme for LAF support
Germany gives UNDP an extra €5 million for Lebanon, funding rubble and ordnance removal equipment and food, health, education and housing aid for soldiers' families.
The story in focus
Germany is contributing an additional €5 million to a UNDP programme supporting Lebanon's armed forces, doubling its total to €10 million. The non-military funding covers equipment for rubble and explosive ordnance removal and food, healthcare, education and housing support for personnel and families through 2028.
- The new €5 million doubles Germany's contribution to the UNDP programme to €10 million.
- Funding covers removal equipment plus food, healthcare, education and housing support for LAF personnel and families through 2028.
- More than 50,000 LAF personnel and family members were displaced after hostilities escalated in March 2026, with returns uncertain.
What the funding covers
Germany's additional €5 million goes to UNDP for non-military assistance to the Lebanese Armed Forces, according to the announcement dated 8 October 2026. The money funds equipment for rubble and explosive ordnance removal, plus food, healthcare, education and housing support for LAF personnel and their families.
The assistance is set to continue through 2028. UNDP says the programme supports roughly 81,500 service members and their families and works on civil-military cooperation intended to build community trust in state institutions.
Pressure on the armed forces
The contribution arrives as the LAF takes on wider responsibilities in extending state authority under Security Council resolution 1701 (2006), while facing financial pressure sustained since 2019. UNDP reports that more than 50,000 LAF personnel and family members were displaced after hostilities escalated in March 2026, with returns uncertain.
The announcement also points to Lebanon's transition following resolution 2790 (2025), which ends the UNIFIL mandate. Abdallah Al Dardari, UN Assistant Secretary General and director of UNDP's regional bureau for Arab states, described the German support as a signal of solidarity at a decisive moment of transition.
Earlier support and partners
Germany has backed the programme since its launch in December 2024. Its first €5 million helped keep all 144 LAF commissaries stocked with subsidised essential food and introduced point-of-sale software across the network.
The programme runs from December 2024 to February 2028 under a memorandum with Lebanon's Ministry of National Defense and the Office of the UN Special Coordinator for Lebanon. Germany, the European Union, Spain, France, Norway, Denmark and Japan contribute.
How much has Germany now given to the UNDP programme for Lebanon's armed forces?
Germany's additional €5 million brings its total contribution to the UNDP programme to €10 million, following an initial €5 million given since the programme launched in December 2024.
Sources & further reading
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