Contribution to UNHCR efforts related to the Syria Crisis in Lebanon and Jordan and to the Iraq Situation - LIBAN

Over 1 million Syrian refugees2 have fled to Lebanon since 2011, making it one of the frontlines of the response in the region and the recipient of the highest number of refugees per capita in the world. In addition, Lebanon hosts almost 22,000 refugees of other nationalities, including from Iraq, Sudan and Ethiopia. Syrian refugees in Lebanon live in over 2,125 localities across the country and have access to the existing public system such as health and education services. Although inclusion in the local communities aids social cohesion, the public system within Lebanon, which was already fragile before the crisis, has been overstretched due to the increasing demand. Preserving the well-being and dignity of the refugees is a challenge, and vulnerabilities to exploitation and other protection risks are rising. The annual Vulnerability Assessment of Syrian Refugees (VASyR) of 20163 shows that 71 per cent of the Syrian refugees live below the national poverty line (USD 3.84 per person/per day), which is a significant increase from the 49 per cent in 2014. Moreover, more than half of refugee families (53 per cent) are living below the extreme poverty line (USD 2.9 per person/per day). A combination of factors, including the lack of legal residency, restrictions on employment opportunities, reductions in assistance and depletion of savings continued to prevent refugees from graduating from poverty. Increasing indebtedness, including to Lebanese creditors, is of concern as this may lead to worsening relations between communities and an increase risk of exploitation. The vast majority of refugee families (90 per cent) had borrowed money in the previous three months before partaking in the VASyR. The average amount of debt increased to USD 857 per household. The increasing indebtedness and difficulties to provide for basic needs compels refugees to resort to negative coping strategies. The 2016 VASyR shows that families are adopting more severe coping strategies as the percentage of refugees adopting crisis and emergency coping strategies4 has increased since 2014, reaching 74 per cent of the refugee population in 2016. A mere 3 per cent of surveyed refugees did not apply any coping strategy in 2016. While UNHCR and partners continue to advocate with the Lebanese Government to improve refugees’ access to livelihoods and run small-scale livelihoods programmes within the limitations acceptable to the Government, this has so far not yet been possible. Consequently, aid dependency currently remains high for large parts of the refugee population. In this context, UNHCR and partners are working to address the refugees’ most pressing needs and prevent a further deterioration of their vulnerabilities. This Program will support vulnerable Syrian Refugee families in Lebanon and Jordan as well as vulnerable IDP families through Cash Based Interventions (CBI).

Population has sufficient basic and domestic items.