Syrian refugee Rabih, 34, settles for a bottle containing one liter of vegetable oil at a small shop in Beirut's Tariq el-Jdideh area. His current financial capacity does not entitle him to purchase a 5-liter bottle, as was the case in the past. “I can't,” Rabih says, “because its cost exceeds what I keep to feed my children until the end of the month,” given the high prices and inflation resulting from the economic crisis afflicting Lebanon.
Rabih is one of hundreds of thousands of Syrians who, like the Lebanese, have been deprived due to the crisis of opportunities for a decent life. The deterioration of the currency exchange rate and the rise in prices have exacerbated their suffering, and these people no longer aspire for more than achieving "sufficiency", a part of which the United Nations organizations contributed to, by increasing their financial and in-kind contributions to meet the growing needs of refugees throughout Lebanon. With the increased needs as a result of the Coronavirus outbreak, contributions have doubled, including medical assistance in terms of equipment and rehabilitation to assist the government in providing a medical infrastructure that benefits refugees and Lebanese.
As the economic crisis intensified, United Nations intervention to mitigate the effects of the crisis began in April 2020, with monthly cash assistance from the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and its partners doubling from 260 thousand Lebanese Pounds to 400 thousand per household per month, in an effort to partially offset inflation in commodity prices in the Lebanese market, and this in consultation with the Lebanese authorities and the World Food Programme to ensure compatibility with social assistance programs for the poorest Lebanese families. Food assistance of the World Food Programme has also doubled from 40 thousand Lebanese Pounds per person per month to 100 thousand.
UNHCR Lebanon spokesperson Lisa Abu Khaled states that "in the light of the increasing depreciation of the Lebanese Pound, UNHCR and other United Nations agencies continue to advocate for increased assistance to both refugees and Lebanese in need." Noting that UNHCR has expanded the safety net as far as possible to cover more families as extreme poverty increases, and to increase the amount of assistance in order to partially compensate for the severe inflation, but she acknowledges that this “remains largely insufficient”.
The funding currently available for humanitarian assistance prevents UNHCR from providing monthly cash assistance (LBP 400 thousand per family) to more than 27% of Syrian refugees. Furthermore, UNHCR and the World Food Programme can only provide cash and/or food assistance to 66% of the total number of refugees.
The economic situation of the Syrian refugees in Lebanon has deteriorated to record levels, owing to the devaluation of the local currency, with about 91% of Syrian refugees living on less than $3.8. Nine out of every Ten Syrian refugee families in Lebanon reached extreme poverty in 2020, compared to 55% just a year ago, according to UNICEF data.
The United Nations stresses that such assistance must be accessible to all families living in extreme poverty. "We continue to work with partners and donors to increase humanitarian assistance for both refugees and Lebanese communities in need," Abu Khaled asserts, noting that all cash assistance programs are currently being paid in Lebanese Pounds.
Host Community Support
As the crisis worsened, UN agencies gradually stepped up to match the needs that included the Lebanese who received refugees in more than 1,700 locations, and the government allowed the refugees to benefit from the already-worn infrastructure including health, education, water, sanitation and electricity, thus adding more pressure on it. The record number of refugees relative to the population has contributed to social tensions at multiple backgrounds, including competition for job opportunities.
In light of this reality, UNHCR has allocated over the past years a portion of its budget to support Lebanese institutions and projects that benefit both local communities and refugees. Since 2011, it has invested US$295.1 million in Lebanese institutions and infrastructure in order to support a number of ministries in providing public services to a larger population and support projects that provide infrastructure and equipment to the host community, with the aim to mitigate the impact of refugees, as well as support Lebanese institutions and communities to better address the repercussions of the Coronavirus outbreak and the repercussions of the Beirut Port explosion on 4 August 2020.
Former Minister of Social Affairs, Rachid Derbas, does not hide the effectiveness and importance of these contributions, but points out that they are "insufficient", recalling what he previously told a senior UN official upon his visit to Lebanon that donors "have become cold", expressing concerns that donor countries' contributions to UN organizations would gradually decline, and that the aid would vanish. While noting that the contributions to international institutions do not exceed 65% of the promised support, Derbas does not however deny that the UN assistance expenditure in Lebanon "secures some foreign currency and also provides acceptable sufficiency for Syrian refugees at a time when Lebanon cannot bear this huge burden."
The average UN expenditure in Lebanon ranges between $ 1.3 billion and $ 1.5 billion annually. About one billion dollars is spent through UN agencies and the rest is provided through other partners and other organizations in the country.
Since 2017, the United Nations Development Program in Lebanon (UNDP) launched the ‘Stabilization and Recovery Programme’ in support of Lebanon's crisis response plan and has set for itself three goals centered on "enhancing the stability and resilience of host communities", supporting key public institutions in order to develop their crisis management capacity, and coordinating stabilization and recovery activities throughout Lebanon.
Meeting the Needs of the “Coronavirus”
The emerging health crises resulting from the spread of the “Coronavirus” have prompted additional United Nations intervention to relieve pressure on the Lebanese health-care system and help it deal with the sharp increase in cases of COVID- 19 that require urgent medical care. UNHCR's response to prevent the spread of the virus began very early, and efforts focused on ensuring that all residents of Lebanon, including Lebanese, refugees and others have timely access to treatment. UNHCR allocated $31.4 million to implement its plan to prevent the spread of the “Coronavirus” in Lebanon in 2020.
The strategy was based on three principles: prevention, containment of spread and infection, and treatment. At the contributions level, UNHCR provided 13 hospitals throughout Lebanon with 100 beds for the intensive care unit (including ventilators and screens), 800 hospital beds and 8 dialysis units for COVID-19 patients. As part of the winter assistance programme, UNHCR provided 1.2 million litres of fuel to support 17 hospitals receiving patients throughout Lebanon to ensure uninterrupted power generation.
In terms of awareness, UNHCR teams worked around the clock to enable refugees to reduce infection and transmission within their families and the community since February 2020. UNHCR collaborated with the Ministry of Public Health, the World Health Organization, local authorities and other partners, to support the national response.
According to the General Supervisor of Lebanon Crisis Response Plan, Dr. Assem Abi Ali, more than two hundred thousand bottles of sterilizers have been distributed, as well as other prevention needs, as part of an awareness-raising and guidance campaign involving social volunteers and the Lebanese authorities, which covered the refugee camps and included explanations on the importance of health prevention, appropriate measures and the need to comply with procedures. In addition, UNHCR teams supported seven isolation centers with a capacity of 431 beds, currently operating throughout Lebanon and receiving all residents independently of their nationality.
Support to the Affected by the Port Explosion
The Port of Beirut explosion on 4 August 2020 marked a disaster that exacerbated the Lebanese economic and living crises, and left its effects on thousands of Lebanese and refugees who found themselves homeless as their homes were damaged. Accordingly, UNHCR mobilized a total of $35 million, which was urgently provided to the most affected and vulnerable families in Beirut. The package included $32.6 million for shelter provision and $2.44 million for protection activities for the following three months. The first package included shelter provision and maintenance of damaged homes, and the second included psychological support and legal assistance.
UNICEF and partners carried out a wide range of interventions and provided emergency humanitarian assistance to those affected by the explosion, with focus on the importance of psychosocial support to address the trauma to which the population was exposed during and after the explosion, as reported by the United Nations one day after the port explosion.
In October 2020, UNHCR launched the Cash Assistance for Shelter Programme, benefiting more than 11,500 families, mostly Lebanese, as well as refugees, non-registered and others, to provide $600 to help them pay for repairs to their damaged homes. It was a one-time grant exceptionally paid in US dollars as it was expected to be spent on the purchase of housing rehabilitation materials that are often imported and sold in US dollars.
From the very beginning, the United Nations Development Program in Lebanon has looked beyond the reconstruction of buildings and infrastructure to ensure a people-centered and inclusive response that addresses in fair and equitable ways the structural weaknesses faced by the most disadvantaged and impoverished groups, including women and girls, migrant workers, refugees, the elderly, children and young people.
All United Nations agencies operating in Lebanon demonstrated a strong commitment to meeting needs, and UNICEF has distributed emergency cash assistance under a scheme to cover 80 thousand children and the most vulnerable individuals affected by the Beirut Port explosion, at a value of $120 to eligible family members up to a maximum of three members per family, along with humanitarian assistance.
A joint initiative and call for action was also launched by UNDP and the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA) to support persons with disabilities, especially after the port explosion, aimed at addressing the immediate and urgent needs of techniques necessary to maintain the health and well-being of persons with disabilities. The United Nations agencies contributions have been applied to meet health, educationaland pedagogical needs.