9 March 2022, BEIRUT – With the support from Qatar Fund for Development (QFFD) and The International Organization for Migration (IOM) started implementing a one-year project “Livelihood Support in the Beqaa and North Lebanon targeting Syrian Refugees”. The project aims to target 604 vulnerable Lebanese and Syrian persons in North Lebanon and Central Bekaa.
Nine years into the Syrian conflict, nearly 1.5 million Syrian refugees are currently living in Lebanon, of whom about 950,000 are registered with United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). With a population estimated at around 6 million, Lebanon is a host to the largest number of refugees per capita in the world. This massive influx has posed immense challenges to this small country, which lacks the adequate resources, infrastructure, and political will to respond to refugees’ needs.
“Struggling to meet basic needs and make ends meet, marginalized communities in the Bekaa and North Lebanon are in dire need of attention and support,” said Nouf Al-Kaabi, Acting Manager of Project and Program Department at the Qatar Fund for Development. “The holistic approach of the livelihood programme provides diverse opportunities that aim to mitigate ever-growing economic hardships, address education needs, and instil a sense of purpose in the most vulnerable Syrian refugees and Lebanese communities, with a focus on the unemployed and women, in areas long neglected,” she added.
In the context of the multiple crises in Lebanon, including the COVID-19 pandemic that has claimed the lives of many and caused devastating social and economic disruptions, the project aims to address such challenges through interventions that adequately meet the needs of vulnerable populations.
This joint initiative aims to create income-generating opportunities, fostering entrepreneurial livelihoods and boosting employability of communities that are threatened by shortage of municipal services, and are living in volatile neighbourhoods in the North, Akkar and the Bekaa valley.
“This generous contribution from the Qatar Fund for Development is coming at a critical time when so many people in Lebanon are struggling in the face of the economic and financial downturn, the COVID-19 pandemic and most recently, the explosions at the port of Beirut.” said Mathieu Luciano, IOM Lebanon’s Head of Office. “Our partnership is a great example of how humanitarian and development provide a critical lifeline to vulnerable host and displaced communities trying to meet their basic needs”
The significance of the project lies in addressing the socio-economic hardships and traditional tensions related to the presence of significant numbers of displaced communities and that come under increased strain due to deteriorating conditions in Lebanon.