UN: 4 Million in Lebanon in Need of Humanitarian Assistance

Imran Rida, the United Nations Coordinator for Humanitarian Affairs in Lebanon, has stated that Lebanon is facing one of the worst humanitarian crises in the world, with around four million people in need of food and other assistance. However, less than half of this number is receiving aid due to insufficient funding.

Rida added on Thursday that the amount of assistance provided by the international organization is "far below the minimum level of survival" typically distributed. He stated that over the past four years, Lebanon has faced a "complex set of multiple crises" described by the World Bank as one of the ten worst financial and economic crises the world has seen since the mid-19th century. This has led to a significant increase in humanitarian needs across all population sectors.

Since the start of the financial collapse in October 2019, Lebanon's political class, which has been blamed for decades of corruption and mismanagement, has resisted the economic and financial reforms demanded by the international community.

Lebanon began negotiations with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in 2020 in an effort to secure a rescue plan, but since reaching an initial agreement last year, the country's leaders have been hesitant to implement the required changes.

Rida noted that Lebanon has been without a president for nearly a year and many of its institutions are not functioning. Additionally, there has been no political solution in Syria to date.

UN estimates indicate that approximately 3.9 million people in Lebanon are in need of humanitarian assistance, including 2.1 million Lebanese, 1.5 million Syrians, 180,000 Palestinian refugees, over 130,000 Palestinians from Syria, and 81,500 migrants.

Rida stated that the UN provided assistance to around one million Syrians and just under 950,000 Lebanese last year, so "everything is moving in a negative direction."

In 2022, the United Nations received about 40% of the necessary funding, and the trend appears to be similar so far this year. However, overall resources are already declining while the needs continue to increase.