Lebanon

Introduction

People in Lebanon, including refugees, face multiple challenges, while having limited access to basic services. Despite the October 2024 Israel-Hezbollah ceasefire, the security situation remains fragile due to recurrent Israeli airstrikes, especially in South Lebanon. Regional instability, including violence in Syria, has displaced over 112,000 Syrians to Lebanon. 

Soaring prices have left around 1 million Lebanese people, Syrian and Palestinian refugees, food insecure.

The economic crisis has also pushed many Lebanese into poverty. Due to the depreciation of the Lebanese pound and high inflation, people’s purchasing power has significantly decreased.

Facts & figures

Through its humanitarian efforts, the EU provides vital support to those in need.

EU funding:

The EU has allocated €2.83 billion since 2011, of which over €1 billion in humanitarian aid.

Education

The funding shortfalls have forced key humanitarian actors to reduce operations and their footprint in the country:

Hostilities

Sustained hostilities continue to cause casualties, besides the 163 attacks on healthcare since October 2023. As of November 2025:  documented since October 2023

What are the needs?

Hostilities in 2024 have impacted 1.2 million people in Lebanon, with at least 64,400 individuals still internally displaced (IDPs). 

As of November 2025, over 112,000 individuals – mostly from Tartous, Lattakia, Homs, and Hama in Syria – have fled to Lebanon, settling mostly in Bekaa, Baalbek-El Hermel, Akkar, and the North. Over 90% of new arrivals crossed unofficial border points and are hosted by local communities, while overcrowded collective shelters lack sanitation. Funding shortfalls limit sustainable assistance, leaving vulnerable populations exposed to: 

• limited access to livelihoods, education and essential services
• shelter shortages
• insecurity
• deportation risks

Lebanon’s prolonged financial and political crisis has deepened poverty, collapsed public services and escalated tensions between communities. The recently formed government faces significant challenges in implementing the needed policies and reforms.

The situation is further exacerbated by anti-refugee rhetoric. Lebanon is one of the countries with the highest number of refugees per capita in the world. Around 20% of Syrian refugee families live in informal settlements and collective shelters, often in dire conditions, facing discrimination and bureaucratic barriers. Extremely limited livelihood opportunities force refugees to resort to negative coping mechanisms. 

Health system

The health system in Lebanon is under severe strain. UNHCR’s recent termination of hospitalisation support for refugees – covering emergency admissions and maternity services – has left tens of thousands without inpatient care, doubling the burden on hospitals, especially public ones. Healthcare access had already plummeted due to financial barriers, medicine shortages, and the exodus of medical staff seeking higher wages abroad.

Preparedness

Recent Israeli operations in Lebanon are disrupting reconstruction efforts, underscoring the need for preparedness in managing large-scale displacement and operating in high-risk environments.

How are we helping?

In 2025, the EU is providing over €93 million in humanitarian aid to help vulnerable populations in Lebanon. 

EU-funded humanitarian partners are also responding to the needs of those newly arrived in Lebanon due to the hostilities and violence in Syria, by providing: 

• food kits
• healthcare
• hygiene kits
• protection services
• shelter assistance
• and psychosocial support 

In addition, EU-funded humanitarian partners are addressing the needs of those still displaced by the escalation of hostilities of 2024, by providing: 

• shelter assistance
• healthcare
• hygiene kits
• protection services
• emergency cash assistance
• and psychosocial support 

Since 2011, the EU has allocated over €1 billion in humanitarian aid to respond to the urgent needs of vulnerable populations, both Lebanese and refugees. 

The EU-organised series of Brussels Conferences have also aimed to address the needs of Syrian refugees and host communities in Lebanon. Through our humanitarian funding, we support vulnerable populations to meet their basic needs through healthcare, education, shelter, protection, legal and basic assistance.

We continue to support services for at-risk children and survivors of sexual and gender-based violence. Additionally, we fund the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) and other partners to provide legal aid for obtaining essential documentation and securing legal residency. 

Education in emergencies is a priority for the EU. In Lebanon, we ensure that out-of-school Syrian children have access to non-formal education while also supporting their transition into formal education. 

In the health sector, the EU supports access to quality healthcare, including via the procurement of medicines and life-saving secondary healthcare for the most vulnerable. 

The EU also provides emergency cash assistance to vulnerable Lebanese and Syrian families to help them meet their essential needs. This aims to mitigate the impact of the economic crisis and hostilities and to reduce protection risks. 

_{Last updated: 15/12/2025}