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Following consultations with the Government of Lebanon’s COVID Inter-Ministerial Committee and international partners to chart collective, coordinated and decisive action in response to the unprecedented health emergency confronting Lebanon, the Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator ad interim (RC/HC a.i.) and humanitarian partners are launching this in-country emergency funding appeal. The Lebanon Emergency Appeal aims to highlight critical areas of humanitarian intervention to protect the lives of people in Lebanon who are most acutely at risk due to the COVID-19 outbreak in the country and its immediate socio-economic impact. The Appeal brings within one coherent frame the set of activities required to support people to cope with the immediate impact of the disease outbreak.

This document brings together activities planned for in the World Health Organization (WHO)-led COVID-19 Country Preparedness Response Plan (CPRP) for Lebanon, the 2020 Lebanon Crisis Response Plan (LCRP), as well as new relief activities, in particular the containment measures, aiming to mitigate the combined impact of the economic crisis and COVID-19 on population groups not previously receiving humanitarian assistance. The document also aims to align local efforts with regional and global fundraising efforts including: the UN Multi Partner Trust Fund launched on 11 April; the COVID-19 Global Humanitarian Response Plan launched on 25 March (updated on 7 May); the regional 3RP for Syria; and, the UNRWA regional appeal launched on 17 March in response to the COVID-19 outbreak. The local Lebanon Emergency Appeal plan will also be adjusted as the situation evolves.

Context of the Crisis

The onset of the COVID-19 has come at an extraordinarily difficult time economically and socio-politically in Lebanon, compounding existing weaknesses and further increasing vulnerabilities.

Like in other parts of the world, the disease outbreak put extra pressure on an already overburdened and under-resourced national health system. Despite the available medical human resources, the public health system in Lebanon was already facing structural challenges, including around the import of medicine and equipment. The COVID-19 outbreak is further diverting human and material resources and leaving other already weak essential services heavily under-resourced, including assistance to people with disabilities, older people and survivors of domestic and gender-based violence (GBV). The outbreak heightens the need for mental health, psycho-social, as well as sexual and reproductive health support. Pre-existing poor hygiene practices, poor coverage in water and sanitation services, poor solid waste management/disposal and overcrowded living conditions in many parts of the country may also augment the incidence and the risk of the spread of the virus.

Beyond the health impact of the disease outbreak, the non-health consequences will be deeper and longer lasting and require a collective and whole-of-system approach. Children have been deprived of ordinary education, learning opportunities and nutrition support. Food insecurity that was deteriorating is now exacerbated due to movement restrictions, loss of income, and no access to school feeding and recently identified gaps in required assistance. Protection risks are increasing, particularly for women and girls, refugees and migrants (including domestic workers), people with disabilities, older people and other vulnerable groups.

Prior to the outbreak, the World Bank already estimated that economic freefall and skyrocketing inflation would lead to significant increase in poverty levels among the Lebanese – from current rates of 30 per cent up to 52 per cent by the end of the year, especially impacting young people and reducing the purchasing power and household expenditure of all population groups in Lebanon. Poverty levels among Syrian refugees are also rising from the 73 per cent previously living below the poverty line and 55 per cent below the extreme poverty line, as reported prior to the crisis. Similarly, poverty figures among Palestine refugees are expected to have increased from 65 per cent among Palestine refugees in Lebanon and 90 per cent among Palestine refugees from Syria, as recorded in 2015. The additional impact of the COVID-19 on people’s livelihoods is dramatic, particularly for the most vulnerable among the Lebanese such as youth, daily workers, female-headed households, older people and people with specific needs. The situation of migrants and refugees is also deteriorating sharply, increasing the total number of people in need of basic humanitarian assistance and protection.

In a recent policy paper, UN Women Lebanon highlights the likely disproportionate impact of COVID-19 on women in terms of vulnerability to GBV, economic and livelihood impacts, and access to life-saving health information and decision-making in the response. Femaleheaded households, representing 29 per cent of the households in Lebanon, female migrant workers and most marginalized women and girls are of particular concern. Initial data published by the National Commission for Lebanese Women jointly with the UN is already showing a marked increase in the number of survivors of domestic/ intimate partner violence who are requesting support.

The risk of Sexual Exploitation and Abuse (SEA) may also be exacerbated, as evidenced in other contexts. Overall, there are increased risks in times of crisis, particularly for the most vulnerable. Meeting our commitments to Accountability to Affected Populations (AAP) and Protection from Sexual Exploitation and Abuse (PSEA) is therefore especially important.