HIGHLIGHTS OF THE MONTH:

• 39,000 individuals received hygiene and baby kits;

• 61,000 World Food Programme (WFP) vouchers were distributed;

• Over 6,000 refugees received primary healthcare services this week including;

• over 500 patients were admitted to the IMC supported hospitals in North, Bekaa and South;

• 2,700 refugees benefited from health education sessions conducted through mobile clinics and community centres;

• 19,000 persons registered with UNHCR this month.

Since the launch of the last Regional Response Plan (RRP) in December 2012, an additional one million Syrians have become refugees in Lebanon, Jordan, Turkey, Iraq and Egypt. This makes it the fastest growing refugee crisis this year. With little prospect of being able to safely return to their homes in the short term and growing hardship in host countries, Syrians face desperate circumstances.

Par Miriam Azar et Benedicte Vene

Comme tous les enfants, ceux qui sont handicapés possèdent de nombreuses capacités mais sont souvent exclus de la société par discrimination et manque de soutien, se trouvant ainsi relégués parmi les plus invisibles et les plus vulnérables enfants au monde.

HIGHLIGHTS OF THE MONTH:

• Over 321,000 refugees received World Food Programme (WFP) food vouchers and food parcels this month;

• Over 225,000 refugees received clothes vouchers, blankets, quilts, kitchen sets, mattresses, recreation kits for children and other household items;

• Some 12,000 refugees benefited from shelter assistance interventions in May;

• Over 11,000 children across Lebanon benefited this month from non-formal education;

ZAHLE, Liban, 27 mai (HCR) – Il est 11 heures du matin au centre d'enregistrement du HCR de Zahlé et la salle est bondée. Dana, 30 ans, arrivée en janvier avec ses quatre enfants après avoir été en fuite pendant des mois en Syrie, est ici pour se faire enregistrer comme réfugiée. Cela leur permettra d'obtenir l'aide et la protection dont ils ont besoin.

24 May 2013 Beirut, Lebanon

Australia will provide AUD 4.6 million (approx. US$ 4.5 million) to support UNRWA’s response to the crisis in Syria. AUD 2 million will go towards the health needs of Palestine refugees from Syria who have been displaced and are now sheltering in Lebanon through the Syria Regional Humanitarian Response Plan. The remaining AUD 2.6 million will support UNRWA’s core education, health and relief services in Syria and across the region through the General Fund.

ARSAL, Liban, 23 mai (HCR) – C'est jour de test à l'école publique secondaire (deuxième session) d'Arsal et les élèves de 4ème sont plongés dans leur examen de maths. Ils factorisent des nombres, écrivent une série d'équations sous forme de puissance – tout cela en français, langue qu'ils n'étudient que depuis qu'ils ont commencé l'école ici dans le nord-est du Liban il y a deux mois.

ARSAL, Lebanon, May 23 (UNHCR) – It's test day at the Arsal Public Second Shift Middle School and the students in the 8th Grade maths class are engrossed in their exam. They factor numbers, write a series of equations in the form of a single power – all in French, a language they have come to learn only since starting school here in north-east Lebanon two months ago.

"These children come to school with a deep desire for learning," says Ali Hujeiri, 55, the school principal. "They know what they've missed and now they appreciate the value of their education."

Situation Overview

Refugees in Lebanon are scattered across the country with the largest concentrations of registered refugees living in North Lebanon (50%) and the Bekaa Valley (38%). There are no camps in Lebanon, but most refugees are hosted or living in rented spaces, and 13% live in collective shelters and tented settlements.