Attachments
IOM VISION
IOM aims to support and protect the most vulnerable individuals across Lebanon, including migrants, refugees, and local community members, against mounting humanitarian needs and socioeconomic hardship caused by a multitude of compounding crises. To address the mobility dynamics of the multi-faceted crisis, IOM will provide lifesaving support, build economic and community resilience against the loss of job opportunities and growing tensions, and seek to prevent and discourage unsafe and irregular migration.
CONTEXT ANALYSIS
The humanitarian situation in Lebanon continues to worsen, triggering increased poverty and despair. The economic collapse ranks among the worst globally in modern times. It has caused severe inflation and unemployment, putting basic living costs out of reach for thousands of people and resulting in acute humanitarian needs. More than half of the Lebanese population is likely living below the poverty line (World Bank, 2022). Lebanon has one of the world's highest numbers of refugees per capita and currently hosts approximately 1.5 million Syrians. Refugees have been significantly affected by a sharp rise in poverty; they have limited access to food, education, health care and other basic services. In 2021, 90 per cent of Syrian refugee households were estimated to be living in extreme poverty. While equivalent data for 2022 is yet to be published, this figure is likely to remain high.
State bankruptcy has weakened public services, particularly the provision of electricity, and by extension, life-saving health care is threatened. Essential medicines to treat chronic diseases, as well as antibiotics, are increasingly difficult to obtain. A quarter of Lebanese, Palestinian and migrant households do not have access to adequate health services (REACH, 2022). The Russo-Ukraine war has disrupted grain supplies and threatened food security, with the cost of bread rising; 57 per cent of Lebanese households are struggling to afford food (WFP, 2022). Fuel shortages are disrupting water supplies, with critical water pumps idle for lack of fuel generation, resulting in an increased reliance on suspect water sources, particularly in vulnerable communities such as informal tented settlements. This has been a contributing factor in the cholera outbreak that hit Lebanon in October 2022. The outbreak demonstrates the impact faltering infrastructure can have, putting an already strained healthcare system, operating on limited capacity, under more pressure. This is aggravated by the combination of poor environmental governance and climate change, which is causing water scarcity, increasing rates of wildfires, and environmental degradation. These problems reflect a weak infrastructure, lack of preparedness and high exposure to catastrophic events, which is an increasing concern in the context of climate change. Despite its middle-income status, Lebanon is ranked 117 out of 182 countries globally on the 2022 ND-GAIN climate vulnerability index.
Furthermore, political uncertainty is high. Lebanon is without a functioning government and is stuck in a presidential vacuum. Political volatility has increased tension between groups, resulting in local clashes. Economic and state decay are destabilizing the country’s delicate political balance.
Deteriorating conditions are affecting mobility trends with an increase in irregular boat departures attempting to reach Europe. An estimated 4,211 Lebanese, Syrian and Palestine refugees attempted the journey between January and October 2022, already nearly triple last year’s figures.[1] This trend is particularly alarming given how dangerous these crossings can be. Two tragic sinkings have taken place so far in 2022 alone, with over 140 migrants drowned or missing. (Al Jazeera, 2022; L’Orient Today, 2022)
It is estimated that over 135,000 migrants reside in Lebanon, including 80 different nationalities (IOM, 2022). Migrants have been severely affected by the deteriorating economic conditions, with high rates of unemployment, food and shelter insecurity, and poor access to essential services like drinking water and health care, including mental health and psychosocial support (MHPSS) (OCHA, 2022). An increasing number are stranded and unable to return to their country of origin, meet their basic needs or support their families back home; the Multi-Sectoral Needs Assessment 2022 (MSNA) indicates that 60 per cent of migrants in Lebanon are in need of humanitarian assistance (OCHA, 2022). Due to the sponsorship (kafala) system, many find themselves having to choose between accepting exploitative working conditions, and wage theft from their employer, or falling into irregular status, limiting their access to assistance, and exponentially increasing the risk of falling victim to human trafficking, sexual exploitation, exploitative working conditions, detention, and deportation (Amnesty International). Protection concerns pre-existing the crisis, such as discrimination, sexual harassment and violence against migrants, especially female domestic workers, have further increased (IMS Policy and Working Paper Series, 2022). 60 per cent of migrants currently in Lebanon need humanitarian and protection assistance (an increase in 31% from last year), potentially as many as a quarter seeking assistance to return home. While the needs of migrants are at par, and in some areas more severe, than other population groups, only nine per cent of migrants received humanitarian assistance in the last 12 months and funding for specialized assistance to migrants is urgently required to ensure they are not left behind. (REACH & IOM, 2022)