Lebanon - winterisation and livelihoods
Above: Before AHP support, Roula was forced to burn plastic in her heater to stay warm. Photo: World Vision Lebanon
Lebanon was facing compounding crises as the world weathered the global COVID-19 pandemic. As in many countries, the pandemic itself created significant economic and health impacts, further pushing vulnerable populations into poverty. On top of this, the Beirut Port Explosion in August 2020, one of the world’s largest non-nuclear explosions, destroyed large parts of the capital, including some 300,000 homes.
A currency and banking crisis rocked the economy since 2019, with the Lebanese currency losing more than 85% of its value over an 18 month period, sending the costs of food and essential items skyrocketing and wiping out families’ savings. According to UNHCR, between October 2019 and June 2021, the cost of food in Lebanon increased by 404 per cent.
Lebanon is also estimated to host to one of the largest per-capita populations of Syrian refugees. This group is especially vulnerable, facing high levels of extreme poverty, food insecurity, and a lack of suitable housing. Economic pressure has forced refugee families to adopt negative coping strategies, such as keeping children out of school, arranging child marriages or engaging in child labour.
The AHP response
The AHP Response in Lebanon focused on two key areas: protection and livelihoods/winterisation. The current response builds on an earlier AHP response in Lebanon between 2017 and 2021.
Plan International Australia is leading on the protection area, in partnership with International Medical Corps and local NGO Himaya. Read more about the protection response here, which is continuing thanks to an extension of support by the Australian Government.
World Vision Australia, through its office in Lebanon and in partnership with local NGO LebRelief, focused on livelihoods and winterisation support, with a focus on assisting vulnerable households to access heating in high altitude areas that experience harsh winter temperatures. The 12-month response reached more than 11,000 people in the Akkar region.
A video on the winterisation work of World Vision in Lebanon, supported by AHP.
Response highlights
A total of 11,159 participants from 2,270 individual households received winter cash assistance to support the cost of fuel, wood, alternative heating sources, home repairs or improved heaters. Each participant received US$400 in total, spread across three payments.
85 houses were repaired by contractors to improve their heat retention. Improvements included structural repairs, roof cleaning, drain cleaning, and the installation of plastic window shields and greenhouses on balconies and entryways.
2270 participants attended awareness sessions on heating preservation, and the use of alternative fuels such as olive pomace wood.
The project made significant progress on promoting alternative heating mechanisms in the Akkar area. After consultations, World Vision decided that olive pomace wood, made from the byproducts of olive oil production, would be a suitable alternative fuel that could be produced efficiently in the local area. Eleven producers in Akkar were selected, following a thorough vetting process, for coaching and technical support. Most producers were using old technologies, which made the production process slow and costly. World Vision provided materials to improve storage, packaging and distribution of olive pomace, such as storage bags, scales and sewing machines, to increase production and reduce costs. As soon as the olive pomace wood became available in the local market, the program worked to promote the effectiveness, efficiency and environmental credentials of olive pomace wood to program participants. Prior to this, many had been burning plastic, or locally scavenged firewood, to keep warm, with negative health and environmental impacts.