Building resilience – The Lebanon Response Plan 2024

The Lebanon Response Plan (LRP) 2024, co-led by the Government of Lebanon and the United Nations, is a comprehensive strategy to address Lebanon’s overlapping humanitarian, economic, and environmental crises.

Against a backdrop of escalating conflict, widespread displacement, and a deteriorating socio-economic landscape, the LRP aims to provide a stabilising framework that prioritises immediate humanitarian needs and long-term resilience.

You can read the complete Response Plan here.

Understanding Lebanon’s compounded crises

Lebanon is at a crossroads, facing unprecedented challenges, including financial collapse, political instability, and the aftermath of escalated conflict along its southern border. With over 1.5 million displaced Syrians, alongside Palestinian refugees and vulnerable Lebanese communities, the country hosts the highest number of displaced individuals per capita globally. The strain on Lebanon’s health, education, and social protection systems has reached critical levels, necessitating urgent action.

Since the eruption of conflict in Septemer 2024 – the most significant escalation in violence since the 2006 war – a large proportion of Lebanon’s population has now been displaced.

The LRP, drafted before this escalation of violence, appeals for $2.72 billion to fund its targeted interventions, focusing on ten key sectors ranging from food security to education and water infrastructure. This funding is vital to support Lebanon’s institutions, safeguard vulnerable populations, and mitigate the worst effects of prolonged crises.

Key objectives of the Lebanon Response Plan

The LRP’s response is structured around four core objectives designed to address immediate and long-term needs:

1. Immediate humanitarian assistance: Ensuring basic needs like food, shelter, and medical aid are met, with particular attention to the most vulnerable, including children, women, and persons with disabilities.
2. Enhancing protection: Strengthening legal and civil protections, addressing gender-based violence, and ensuring displaced populations have access to critical documentation and services.
3. Service provision through national systems: Supporting the maintenance of essential services such as healthcare, water, and sanitation through national institutions, which are under immense strain.
4. Economic, social, and environmental stability: Promoting sustainable livelihoods, addressing environmental degradation, and fostering social cohesion to mitigate tensions between host and displaced communities.

A coordinated and inclusive approach

The LRP underscores the importance of coordination among government agencies, international organisations, and local stakeholders. Integrating humanitarian, development, and peace-building efforts ensures that interventions address immediate crises and contribute to Lebanon’s long-term stability.

A key feature of the LRP is its commitment to the principle of localisation. This approach empowers Lebanese institutions and local actors to lead and deliver aid effectively, ensuring that support is context-sensitive and responsive to the needs of affected communities.

Challenges and the path ahead

Despite the robust framework provided by the LRP, significant challenges remain. Lebanon’s deteriorating infrastructure and a reduction in international funding pose risks to the plan’s implementation. The recent escalation in hostilities has further exacerbated the country’s fragility, with over 4,047 casualties reported by the end of December 2024.

Nevertheless, the LRP provides a pathway for sustainable recovery, emphasising transparency, accountability, and the efficient use of resources. It is a lifeline for millions in Lebanon, offering hope amidst immense difficulty.

How you can help

The success of the Lebanon Response Plan depends on collective action.

By contributing to this critical effort, you can help ensure that essential services reach those in need, support Lebanon’s most vulnerable populations, and contribute to the country’s recovery and stability.

Visit UK Care for Children (UKC4C)’s Programs page to learn more about our work and how you can contribute. Every contribution brings us closer to Lebanon’s more stable, resilient, and hopeful future.