The country
Lebanon is a country in the Middle East that gained independence from France in 1943. The country borders the Mediterranean Sea, Israel and Syria. Its capital is Beirut. Lebanon covers an area of 10,400 square kilometers. As of 2024, the country has an estimated population between 5.3 and 6.8 million people.
The humanitarian situation
Since late 2019, Lebanon has been facing a complex humanitarian crisis due to several large socioeconomic shocks, ongoing political instability, and the steep deterioration of the economy. Hyperinflation, the depreciation of the Lebanese Pound (LBP), and lack of livelihood opportunities have exacerbated poverty and fueled hunger. Lebanon remains the world’s biggest refugee-hosting country per capita.
More than 12 years into the Syria crisis, the Lebanese government estimates that the country hosts 1.5 million Syrian refugees (814,715 are registered), making Lebanon the second-largest host country after Turkey. According to the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR), the socioeconomic downturn in the country has led to an exponential rise in extreme poverty and protection risks for Syrian refugees in Lebanon. 90 percent of refugees live in extreme poverty. In addition, 209,000 registered Palestinian refugees are in the country, including 180,000 Palestinian refugees in Lebanon and 31,000 Palestinian refugees from Syria.
The country’s financial and economic crisis is one of the most severe economic breakdowns globally since the mid-nineteenth century, according to the World Bank. The political and economic crisis in Lebanon has led to widespread poverty among the population, the collapse of public services and growing tensions that are exacerbated by the war against Ukraine and the global food crisis.
Poverty is the root cause of hunger in the Middle Eastern country. Over 80 percent of people in Lebanon are living in multidimensional poverty, which reflects deprivation across areas including healthcare, electricity, water, sanitation, transportation, connectivity, and means of income.
IPC's (Integrated Food Security Phase Classification) latest acute food insecurity analysis indicates that 1.4 million people in Lebanon, including Lebanese and refugee populations, face crisis levels of hunger or worse and are in urgent need of humanitarian assistance to reduce food gaps, protect and restore livelihoods, and prevent acute malnutrition.
A total of 811,000 Lebanese, 540,000 Syrian refugees, 54,000 Palestine refugees in Lebanon and 11,000 Palestine Refugees from Syria in Lebanon were estimated to be in IPC Phase 3 (Crisis) or above between May and October 2023, meaning they have large food consumption gaps reflected in very high acute malnutrition. High levels of food insecurity are perpetuated by a further deterioration of the economic situation, the devaluation of the Lebanese pound, persistent inflation, and insufficient humanitarian aid.
The United Nations estimates that 2.3 million people in Lebanon were in need of humanitarian assistance in 2023, including 2 million Lebanese, 209,000 Palestine refugees, and 90,000 migrants. In addition, some 90 percent of the 1.5 million Syrian refugees in the country continue to require humanitarian aid. Therefore, a total of 3.65 million men, women, and children living in the country required humanitarian assistance in 2023.
The humanitarian community focuses on providing essential short-term support to most vulnerable people affected by the economic crisis to meet their critical needs in terms of health care, food, nutrition, education and water.
The Lebanese government declared a cholera outbreak on October 6, 2022, the first outbreak of cholera since 1993. As of June 2023, the government reported 8,007 suspected or confirmed cases of Cholera and 23 deaths.
The security situation
Since its independence, Lebanon has experienced several periods of political turmoil interspersed with prosperity built on its historical position as a regional center for finance and trade, although that status has significantly diminished since the beginning of Lebanon’s economic crisis in 2019, which includes simultaneous currency, debt, and banking crises.
The country's 1975-90 civil war was followed by years of social and political instability. Sectarianism is a key element of Lebanese political life. Lebanon is a parliamentary republic based on the 1943 National Pact, which apportions governmental authority among a Christian president, a Shia speaker of the Chamber of Deputies (parliament), and a Sunni prime minister.
The Syrian conflict has affected the country economically and socially. Over the past 11 years, the conflict has further strained the country’s already weak infrastructure and ability to deliver social services. Neighboring Syria has historically influenced Lebanon's foreign and domestic policies, and its military occupied Lebanon from 1976 until 2005. Hezbollah - a major Lebanese political party and militia - and Israel continued attacks and counterattacks against each other after Syria's withdrawal, and fought a brief war in 2006.
Since October 7, 2023 hostilities along the Israel-Lebanon border between armed groups - including Hezbollah - and the Israeli military are having a devastating impact on civilians. Nearly 90,000 people in Lebanon have been displaced by the fighting from the south. According to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), many displaced are in urgent need of assistance. A further escalation in hostilities would have devastating consequences for civilians on both sides of Lebanon’s southern border.
According to OCHA, the unprecedented economic meltdown and weak governance in Lebanon has led to an upsurge in tensions and security incidents, often driven by competition for basic services and commodities. Crime rates remain high, and incidents of hate speech and stigmatization of communities have reportedly multiplied. State institutions and state services, that were already suffering from years of underinvestment prior to the compounded crisis, are now on the brink of collapse.
Significant human rights issues are reported in Lebanon including serious political interference with the judiciary, serious restrictions on free expression and media, violence, threats of violence or unjustified arrests or prosecutions against journalists, censorship, and the existence of laws criminalizing libel, and serious restrictions on internet freedom.
There are also reports of refoulement of refugees to a country where they would face a threat to their life or freedom, serious high-level and widespread official corruption, existence or use of laws criminalizing consensual same-sex sexual conduct between adults, crimes involving violence or threats of violence targeting lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, or intersex persons, and the existence of the worst forms of child labor.
Donations
Your donation for the Lebanon emergency can help United Nations agencies, international humanitarian non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and their local partners to rapidly provide water, food, medicine, shelter and other aid to the people who need it most.
- UN Crisis relief: Syrian refugee crisis in Lebanon
https://crisisrelief.un.org/lebanon-crisis - UN Crisis relief: Lebanon Humanitarian Fund
https://crisisrelief.un.org/t/lebanon - UNICEF: Support UNICEF Lebanon
https://www.unicef.org/lebanon/support-unicef-lebanon - Caritas Internationalis: Emergency appeal for Lebanon
https://www.caritas.org/donate-now-original/lebanon-appeal/ - Save the Children US: Donate to Help Children in Lebanon
https://www.savethechildren.org/us/where-we-work/lebanon
There are currently few active appeals for the Lebanon crisis. You may also consider an unearmarked donation to organizations that are active in the country.
- UNHCR: Lebanon
https://www.unhcr.org/lebanon.html - World Food Programme (WFP): Lebanon
https://www.wfp.org/countries/lebanon - Oxfam International: Lebanon
https://www.oxfam.org/en/what-we-do/countries/lebanon - Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF): Lebanon
https://www.msf.org/lebanon - Islamic Relief: Lebanon
https://islamic-relief.org/where_we_work/lebanon/
To find other organizations to which you can donate, visit: Humanitarian Crisis Relief, Refugees and IDPs, Children in Need, Hunger and Food Insecurity, Medical Humanitarian Aid, Vulnerable Groups, Faith-Based Humanitarian Organizations, and Human Rights Organizations.
Further Information
- UN OCHA: Lebanon
https://www.unocha.org/lebanon - ACAPS: Lebanon Socioeconomic crisis
https://www.acaps.org/country/lebanon/crisis/socioeconomic-crisis - European Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations (ECHO): Lebanon
https://civil-protection-humanitarian-aid.ec.europa.eu/where/middle-east/lebanon_en - IPC: Lebanon Acute Food Insecurity Report, December 2022
https://www.ipcinfo.org/fileadmin/user_upload/ipcinfo/docs/IPC_Lebanon_Acute_Food_Insecurity_Report_Dec2022.pdf - IFRC: Lebanon Complex Emergency
https://www.ifrc.org/emergency/lebanon-complex-emergency - Human Rights Watch: World Report 2024: Lebanon
https://www.hrw.org/world-report/2024/country-chapters/lebanon
Last updated: 29/02/2024