Lebanon Crisis Response Plan 2015-16 - Year Two

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

After five years of generously hosting families displaced by the Syrian crisis, Lebanon’s government and communities continue to face critical tests of stability. At the same time, the most vulnerable Lebanese, displaced Syrians, and Palestine refugees are reaching the end of their coping capacities.
Although the number of persons displaced from Syria in Lebanon remained stable in 2015, individual, community and institutional vulnerabilities reached new heights, despite international contributions which met just half of the initially required funding. Five years into the crisis, persons displaced from Syria and vulnerable Lebanese face considerable hardship, with fewer resources available and an increased reliance on humanitarian assistance. Negative coping strategies, such as withdrawing children from school, child labour and reduction of food intake, are on the rise. Without increased support or the ability to self-sustain, such coping strategies may become more pervasive and, in some cases, irreversible. Rising unemployment and declining income are increasingly reported, in a context where displaced persons from Syria live side-by-side with the most vulnerable Lebanese. In the country with one of the highest per capita ratios in the world of persons registered as refugees, public institutions and infrastructure are exceptionally overstressed, severely impacting access to and quality of basic services.

Despite its many challenges, Lebanon has remained resilient. Yet as 2015 ends, Lebanon’s society faces a critical test. Public concern is growing around spillover of the conflict from Syria into Lebanon’s stressed communities. Challenges are greatest in the most vulnerable and deprived parts of the country, which are also hosting the largest numbers of displaced persons from Syria. A reinforced, consolidated and tailored effort to tackle long-term inequities and development gaps in the context of an ongoing humanitarian crisis is essential to Lebanon’s peace and stability.

Lebanon Crisis Response Plan (LCRP): An Integrated Humanitarian and Stabilization Strategy

2016 is the second year of the Lebanon Crisis Response Plan, and serves as a transitional phase into a longer term strategic framework for 2017-2020. As in the previous year, the Government of Lebanon (GoL) and national and international partners come together to deliver integrated and mutually reinforcing humanitarian and stabilization interventions.
The LCRP promotes the strategic priorities identified by GoL and partners (United Nations, national and international NGOs and donors), emphasizing the role of GoL in leading the response with the oversight of the cabinet´s Crisis Cell. Interventions in the LCRP are aligned to national policies and strategies, and seek to complement and build on other international assistance in the country.

The LCRP is designed to:

1. Ensure humanitarian assistance and protection for the most vulnerable among persons displaced from Syria and poorest Lebanese;

2. Strengthen the capacity of national and local service delivery systems to expand access to and quality of basic public services; and

3. Reinforce Lebanon’s economic, social, environmental, and institutional stability.