Lebanon

We have been present in Lebanon since 2006, supporting populations in vulnerable conditions by ensuring their access to basic services in the governorates of Akkar, Baalbek-Hermel, North Lebanon, Bekaa and South Lebanon. Our goal is to advance community resilience by reinforcing local agency and enabling the systematic assessment and use of existing skills and resources to achieve sustainable development outcomes. 

We prioritise community engagement by offering tailored support to families, raising awareness among their communities about challenges and needs, and adopting a participatory approach for local governance and development. 

Lebanon is facing an unprecedented convergence of socioeconomic and political crises since 2019 that continue to erode the population’s well-being and undermine resilience. An estimated 80% of the population now lives in poverty, with more than a third below the extreme poverty line, while unemployment has more than doubled – reaching now 29.6% of the population -, disproportionately affecting women and youth.

By the end of 2023, the cost of basic food items had exceeded the means of many households, contributing to severe food insecurity for more than one million people in a country of fewer than six million inhabitants.

These vulnerabilities are further aggravated by the lasting consequences of the Beirut Port explosion, the protracted effects of the Syrian crisis, the 2024 war, the renewed escalation of hostilities in spring 2026, and the continued attacks by the Israeli army.

This succession of events has caused and continues to cause further displacement and growing humanitarian needs, while at the same time disrupting essential services. Broader regional instability continues to affect supply chains and livelihoods, further deepening humanitarian needs across the country.

WeWorld has been working in Lebanon since 2006 with a team of more than 50 staff members based in Beirut, Zahle, Ain, Kobayat and Saida. Our approach is inclusive, engaging rights-holders of all nationalities, with a focus on groups in the most vulnerable conditions, such as refugees, women, youth. We focus on localisation, creating partnerships with local public and private stakeholders to empower local actors and promote sustainability. Moreover, we apply the Humanitarian, Development and Peacebuilding Nexus (HDP Nexus) approach throughout our programs to ensure consistency and effectiveness.  

Our intervention focuses on water governance, food security and livelihoods, local development and education.

We focus on effective and sustainable water supply through a three-tiered approach: 

We have contributed to food security for Lebanese and Syrian refugees in vulnerable conditions, including people with disabilities, through food parcels and vouchers distribution. We create livelihood opportunities by offering vocational training and implementing Cash for Work projects, supporting individuals in starting small businesses.

We focus on long-term local development and enhancing social cohesion by generating income and creating decent job opportunities along the agri-food value chain. Initiatives in the Northeast Bekaa and Akkar regions, within the framework of the HDP Nexus, promote income opportunities by diversifying the local economy and increasing regional competitiveness. 

The interventions are structured around three main pillars. 

We ensure inclusive access to education, particularly for children in vulnerable conditions. This includes the rehabilitation and solarisation of schools, the adaptation of facilities to improve accessibility and the organisation of training sessions for teachers on a range of topics, with the aim of supporting retention in formal education. All our efforts are carried out in collaboration with the Lebanese Ministry of Education and Higher Education. 

In Lebanon, our focus on localisation and the Humanitarian, Development, and Peacebuilding Nexus ensures sustainability and alignment with community priorities. This framework addresses transversal needs and promotes local economic development. By focusing on revitalising the local economy and strengthening public and private capacities to compete nationally and internationally, we tackle main barriers limiting productivity and profitability in the agri-food sectors. We also work closely with local partners and local authorities to strengthen communities' capacity to cope with protracted crises and evolving needs.

In Lebanon, the stories we collect are not data points. They are testimonies. Accounts of people living displacement, war, precarity and lack of access to basic services, while trying to build a better future for them and their families. For us, people are always at the centre. Through our projects, we listen and document. Because behind every number, there is a person. Behind every statistic, a context. Our commitment is to give these people, and their every day’s lives space, within a mediatic scenario that tends to neglect them.

Sarah, displaced with her family in 2024 from Khiam in southern Lebanon and later from the southern suburbs of Beirut. 

The escalation of the conflict in Lebanon last March forced thousands of people to leave their homes once again. Destroyed houses, separated families and lives put on hold have become the daily reality for many communities affected by the violence. 

In the short film Under Evacuation Orders, Sarah and Tharwat, a member of WeWorld's staff who was also displaced with her family, share first-hand accounts of what it means to be uprooted, leave one's home behind and try to rebuild a sense of normality in a context of ongoing uncertainty. 

Funded by the Italian Agency for Development Cooperation (AICS) and produced by Chloe Khoury, Laura Menassa and Ameen Abo Kaseem, the film offers a direct insight into the human impact of the crisis and the challenges faced every day by people forced to flee.