Lebanon

USAID is providing humanitarian assistance in response to catastrophic explosions that rocked the Port of Beirut in Lebanon on August 4, 2020

Michael R Czaja, PhD | USAID/BHA

Key Developments

President Joseph R. Biden announced nearly $98 million in US government humanitarian assistance for Lebanon and observed the anniversary of the Port of Beirut explosions on August 4.

Lebanon’s deteriorating economic crisis has led to worsening food insecurity and electricity and fuel shortages, adversely affecting health and water, hygiene and sanitation services.

USAID Bureau for Humanitarian Assistance partner World Food Program is providing food assistance to 1.4 million people across Lebanon amid deteriorating economic and food security conditions.

State Department Bureau of Population, Refugees and Migration partner UNICEF is facilitating access to safe drinking water and sanitation services for more than 175,000 Syrian refugees and the Lebanese municipalities that host them.

Background

Lebanon has experienced several large socioeconomic shocks due to overlapping crises in late 2019 and 2020, including ongoing political instability, the steep deterioration of the economy, and the emergence of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19).  Hyperinflation, the depreciation of the Lebanese lira, lack of livelihood opportunities, and rising prices has diminished the purchasing power of many Lebanese households, increasing vulnerabilities.  Meanwhile, COVID-19 has strained health care system capacity and contributed to deteriorating socioeconomic conditions in the country.  In November 2019, the World Bank estimated that the combined impacts of soaring inflation and the rapid rise in the price of many basic goods could push more than 50 percent of the Lebanese population below the poverty line during 2020, an increase of approximately 20 percent compared to 2018 estimates.