Lack of funding increases suffering of Syrian refugees in Lebanon

BEIRUT — The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) has removed 35,000 Syrian refugee families in Lebanon from its aid list due to a lack of funding. The decision will see the number of Syrian families receiving UN aid decrease from 269,000 to 234,000.

UNHCR spokesperson in Lebanon Lisa Abou Khaled stated that they will identify the neediest families to receive aid as the organization does not have the resources to meet all needs.

Last month, the UN launched an appeal for contributions to the millions of people displaced by conflict in Ukraine, Afghanistan, and the Middle East and to help them get past the winter amid “significant difficulty” in securing heating.

Many of the displaced will have to choose between eating and heating, said a UNHCR spokesperson in Geneva.

UNHCR warned of the seriousness of the situation, especially in Lebanon, which is experiencing an economic crisis, and where 9 out of 10 Syrian refugees live in extreme poverty.

There are approximately 1.5 million Syrian refugees residing in Lebanon according to official estimates. Most of them suffer from difficult living conditions, especially with the aggravation of the economic crisis in Lebanon.

During a meeting in December 2022, head of the Lebanese caretaker government Najib Mikati and UN High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi stressed the importance of removing obstacles to the return of displaced Syrians in Lebanon to their homeland and pledged to increase coordination to solve the dilemma.