Lebanon needs your support now
Lebanon is in the throes of an economic crisis that has brought the country to the brink of collapse. Your support can help provide, healthcare services and immediate basic needs to the most vulnerable.
Marketplace at Caritas Ashrafieh Centre. Photo: Caritas Australia
Food prices have risen 628% in just two years.
Rouba Chalhoub Head Nurse and Coordinator of Caritas Lebanon's Ashrafieh Health Care Centre. Photo: Caritas Australia
Hospitals are rationing electricity.
Hyperinflation has drastically devalued the Lebanese Lira, in what the World Bank says is potentially one of the three worst economic crises the world has seen in the past 150 years.
- The poverty rate has nearly doubled from 42% in 2019 to 82% in 2021 (UN - Multidimensional Poverty rate).
- The World Food Program (WFP) estimates that food prices in Lebanon have risen by 628% in just two years. The price of bread has increased by six times in 2021 alone.
- Fuel shortages have spiraled out of control - petrol prices have skyrocketed by roughly 1000% and cooking gas by 955% since the beginning of this year. 20 litres of petrol are now worth nearly half of the legal minimum wage, making it almost unaffordable to commute to work or transport children to school.
- Hospitals are rationing electricity and relying on patients to bring their own medicines due to a shortage of supplies, equipment and clean water.
The Caritas Network is on the ground responding to emergency needs in Beirut. Photo: Caritas Lebanon
The time to act is now.
Please give generously to support our Lebanese brothers and sisters.
How did the Lebanese economic crisis happen?
A crippling recession that saw prices skyrocket in the face of unprecedented inflation, was only exacerbated by the explosion in the Port of Beirut in 2020. Now, the effects from the ongoing conflict in Gaza are compounding Lebanon’s precarious situation, with tens of thousands of people living near the border of Israel now displaced.
According to the World Bank, without the implementation of a comprehensive crisis resolution plan, no long-term investment is feasible, and the country’s physical, human, social, and natural capital will be further eroded.
What is Caritas doing to help?
Caritas Lebanon is working to support the most vulnerable communities in Lebanon with healthcare services, hot meal distribution, livelihood support, and rent and cash assistance:
- 37 centres across the country providing social support in the form of rent and cash assistance for bills, and school fees reporting up to 5,000 new people seeking assistance each week.
- 10 primary healthcare centres and 8 mobile clinics providing diagnosis services, treatment, mental health services and distributing medications.
- Secondary healthcare support via agreement across over 80 hospitals covering part or all of hospital fees for vulnerable people.
- Mobile clinics focussed on supporting people living with a disability and the elderly.
- 3 shelters for women seeking protection and escaping gender-based violence, providing shelter, food, medical, legal and psychosocial support as well as life skills and livelihood training.
Give your support to help our partner Caritas Lebanon with:
Rent and cash assistance
Food
Medication and health services
Emergency shelter for women and children
Video:
The Lebanese population faces a dire humanitarian crisis
Video:
Caritas Lebanon food distribution in Beirut
People queuing in Beirut after blast. Photo: Caritas Lebanon.
Where does my donation go?
The funds you donate to this appeal go to Caritas Australia’s Emergency Response Fund and will be used to provide humanitarian assistance to communities affected by this crisis. Should circumstances prevent us from delivering aid to this emergency, or if excess funds remain after the crisis, donations will be directed to other emergencies where Caritas has humanitarian operations.
The time to act is now.
Please give generously to support our Lebanese brothers and sisters.
