The Estonian Refugee Council has distributed more than 16,000 meals in Lebanon this spring to help alleviate the humanitarian crisis and support those in the most vulnerable situations. To date, assistance has reached 4,900 internally displaced people living in official shelters.
As a result of the hostilities that escalated in March, more than one million people in Lebanon have been forced to flee their homes. Many are now living in temporary shelters or are entirely dependent on humanitarian assistance. Sharp increases in prices, loss of income and disruptions to local food production have made daily meals unaffordable for many families. An estimated 1.24 million people are currently experiencing acute food insecurity.
According to Eero Janson, Director of the Estonian Refugee Council, the escalating humanitarian crisis has had a devastating impact on society as a whole. “Imagine a country where one in four people does not know where their next meal will come from, and one in five has been forced to leave their home. Many have now been displaced for the second or even third time,” said Janson.
“The current conflict struck a country whose social systems and population were already under immense pressure due to a prolonged economic crisis. Even before the latest escalation, every second person in Lebanon was living at or below the poverty line and struggling to meet their basic needs. At the same time, Lebanon hosts the largest refugee population per capita in the world. Such overlapping crises hit hardest those who have not yet had the chance to recover from previous shocks,” he added.
Although several temporary ceasefires and pauses have been agreed since the escalation of hostilities in March, attacks and fighting have continued in several parts of Lebanon. In recent weeks alone, tens of thousands of people have once again been forced to flee their homes in search of safety.
With support from the Estonian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Estonian Refugee Council, in cooperation with the local organisation Nusaned, is providing assistance this spring and summer to internally displaced people living in official shelters, with a particular focus on families with children, older people and persons with disabilities. The assistance includes hot meals, ready-to-eat food parcels and essential relief items.
The Estonian Refugee Council has been operating in Lebanon since 2018, supporting people affected by crises in cooperation with local partners.