CHICAGO, IL (August 15, 2013)—Covenant World Relief is providing “immediate support” in response to a special appeal from Medical Teams International (MTI) to help care for Syrian refugees pouring into Lebanon. The crisis threatens to destabilize the entire region according to the United Nations.

Covenant World Relief has partnered with MTI throughout the world. “We are grateful to be able to work with a partner like Medical Teams International, which has both a high level of expertise as well as capable and trustworthy partners on the ground in Lebanon,” said CWR director Dave Husby.

“The Lebanese government and local and international agencies working in Lebanon are becoming overwhelmed by the Syrian crisis,” said Joe DiCarlo, MTI director of emergency relief and global security. “Intense pressure has been exerted on all sectors of Lebanese society since the crisis began.”

The United Nations Refugee Agency estimates that as of July 2013, 600,000 Syrian refugees were in need of assistance, with thousands more crossing into the small country daily.

MTI has been working with the refugees in Lebanon since May and plans to continue the project for at least another 10 months, DiCarlo said.

The organization is providing primary health care to an estimated 7,800 refugees who do not have access to services in settlements in the Zahle area and Bekaa Valley of Lebanon, said DiCarlo. The care includes using mobile medical units, facilitating community-based health education, and helping prevent outbreaks of cholera, tuberculosis, and measles.

Covenanters who would like to donate funds to the relief work can do so at the CWR disaster relief site.