EU increases aid for Syrian refugees in Lebanon

The European Union (EU) boosted its humanitarian funding for Syrian refugees in Lebanon by an additional 18.7 million U.S. dollars, the Daily Star reported on Saturday.

"Life for Syrian refugees is getting harder and harder, as they have spent most of what they had on food, housing and medical treatment," the daily quoted a statement by Bruno Rotival, head of the European Commission Humanitarian Aid and Civil Protection Department's office in Lebanon.

"Families are getting deeper and deeper into debt and many Syrian children are forced to work to help the family financially. There is a sense of desperation and people are resorting to dangerous coping mechanisms," he added.

Bruno said a vulnerability assessment carried out in June showed that the number of "severely vulnerable" Syrian refugees had doubled in the past year, rising from 29 percent in 2014 to nearly 50 percent in 2015.

This additional aid will enable the Lebanese ministry of health to treat more refugees, the statement said, adding that the EU has provided 248 million dollars in total for Syrian refugees to fund humanitarian relief efforts.

According to the United Nations Higher Commission for Refugees, Lebanon is hosting over 1.2 million Syrian refugees.