UN humanitarian chief calls for more support to refugees and host communities in Lebanon [EN/AR]

(Beirut, Lebanon, 2 July 2013): UN Humanitarian Chief Valerie Amos concluded her visit to Lebanon today calling for more support to help the increasing number of refugees and local host communities affected by the crisis in Syria. Lebanon hosts more than half a million refugees from Syria, a number that could reach 1 million by the end of the year if the situation does not improve.

“Since my last visit to Lebanon just six months ago, the number of refugees has increased by more than 200 per cent,” said Ms. Amos. “By the end of the year, refugees could make up 20 per cent of Lebanon’s population.”

Since the start of the conflict in 2011, over 1.7 million people have fled Syria to neighbouring countries and Lebanon has received the largest number of refugees in the region. The revised Syria Refugee Response Plan for Lebanon seeks $1.7 billion to help refugees as well as the local communities hosting them. However, humanitarian organizations and the Government have only received 15 per cent of the funding needed so far.

“The Government and people of Lebanon have opened their borders and doors to their Syrian neighbours in time of need,” said Ms. Amos. “And the crisis is taking a toll on the economy and on the provision of basic services, such as health and education, in the country.”

During her visit, Ms. Amos travelled to Lebanon’s Bekaa region which is hosting some 180,000 refugees. She saw for herself the impact of the crisis on many Syrian families she visited at the Saadnayel and El Faaor settlements. The UN Refugee Agency is working with humanitarian organizations to provide essential aid supplies such as food, water and shelter to the families in the region.

“The situation in Syria is clearly getting much worse. I met people today who had fled the violence in Al Qusayr,” said Ms. Amos. “They talked about the intensity of the fighting and its impact on their children. Over 50 per cent of the Syrian refugees here are children. It is Syria’s future that is being blighted.” In the southern suburbs of Beirut, Ms. Amos also visited a UN Development Programme project seeking to improve access to social services for communities in some of the poorest parts of the country. Many of these communities in Beirut are now hosting hundreds of refugees from Syria.

“We need to do all we can to support the Lebanese Government,” said Ms. Amos. “If you have thousands of refugees crossing the border every day, it’s a huge burden not just on the country but also on the people who are hosting the refugees.”