Between international donors and local faith communities: Intermediaries in humanitarian assistance to Syrian refugees in Jordan and Lebanon

This paper explores the crucial part that faith‐based organisations (FBOs) play in acting as intermediaries between international donors and local faith communities (LFCs) implementing humanitarian relief projects for Syrian refugees. Humanitarian responses to the mounting Syrian refugee crisis have coincided with greater collaboration between international donors and LFCs. This cooperation often is facilitated by a complex web of non‐state intermediaries at the international, national, and local level. This study probes the breadth of roles of these intermediaries, drawing on primary data from case studies of two Christian intermediaries supporting Christian LFCs as they deliver aid primarily to Muslim Syrian refugees in Jordan and Lebanon. The results of the study are connected to the wider literature on LFCs in humanitarian response, revealing how intermediaries address issues of accountability, capacity‐building, impartiality, neutrality, and professionalism. The paper concludes by offering suggestions for further research on intermediaries as key actors in the localisation of humanitarian assistance

Quantifying the spatio-temporal variability of water quality in an urbanizing perennial mediterranean river: The case of the Beirut river

Rivers are increasingly being subjected to increased anthropogenic pollution stresses that are undermining their designated-uses and negatively affecting sensitive coastal areas. In this study, the water quality of the Beirut River, a poorly monitored seasonal Mediterranean River, is quantified. Water quality samples were collected on a regular basis over two consecutive years (2016 and 2017) from four sampling sites that represent a gradient of increased urbanization. The spatio-temporal variability of the physio-chemical (pH, Total Suspended Sediment (TSS), Nitrates-nitrites (NOx), sulfates (SO4-2), Total Phosphorus (TP), Total Nitrogen (TN), temperature, conductivity, chemical oxygen demand (COD) and bio-chemical oxygen demand (BOD)) and biological (fecal coliform and total coliform) pollution levels were statistically analysed in an effort to better understand the contribution of point and non-point pollution sources. The results showed significant yearly as well as seasonal variability and a high correlation between the measured pollution levels and river flow levels. Spatially, pollution levels appeared to correlate well with the urbanization levels in the basin. Future work will focus on modeling and further characterizing the pollutant loads reaching the Beirut River Basin. It is hoped that this study will give decision makers a better understanding of the water quality in the Beirut River and thus facilitate the development of an integrated comprehensive and transparent river basin management plan

Quantifying the spatio-temporal variability of water quality in an urbanizing perennial mediterranean river: The case of the Beirut river

Rivers are increasingly being subjected to increased anthropogenic pollution stresses that are undermining their designated-uses and negatively affecting sensitive coastal areas. In this study, the water quality of the Beirut River, a poorly monitored seasonal Mediterranean River, is quantified. Water quality samples were collected on a regular basis over two consecutive years (2016 and 2017) from four sampling sites that represent a gradient of increased urbanization. The spatio-temporal variability of the physio-chemical (pH, Total Suspended Sediment (TSS), Nitrates-nitrites (NOx), sulfates (SO4-2), Total Phosphorus (TP), Total Nitrogen (TN), temperature, conductivity, chemical oxygen demand (COD) and bio-chemical oxygen demand (BOD)) and biological (fecal coliform and total coliform) pollution levels were statistically analysed in an effort to better understand the contribution of point and non-point pollution sources. The results showed significant yearly as well as seasonal variability and a high correlation between the measured pollution levels and river flow levels. Spatially, pollution levels appeared to correlate well with the urbanization levels in the basin. Future work will focus on modeling and further characterizing the pollutant loads reaching the Beirut River Basin. It is hoped that this study will give decision makers a better understanding of the water quality in the Beirut River and thus facilitate the development of an integrated comprehensive and transparent river basin management plan

Genotypic characterization of rotaviruses and prevalence of serotype-specific serum antibodies in children in Kuwait

There are no data on the serotypes of rotaviruses prevalent in Kuwait, which has a large expatriate population and hence a focal point for transmission of pathogens. The serotype information will contribute to the fund of knowledge on the world epidemiology of rotavirus serotypes and will predict the outcome of vaccination in Kuwait. Of the 75 rotavirus-positive samples from 172 children (aged <5 years) with severe diarrhoea, 69 were genotyped. The distribution of genotypes was G1 (63·8%) followed by G9 (10·2%), G2 (7·3%), G4 (7·3%) and G3 (4·4%). Among the P types, P[8] was the most common type found across all G types. By fluorescent focus neutralization test, serum antibodies to genotypes G1 (94%), G4 (68%) and G9 (46%) were found in 120 other children. These results show that G1 is the predominant serotype in Kuwait and that a vaccine that contains G1 will be most effective