Mennonite Central Committee Canada is supporting Popular Aid for Relief and Development (PARD) with a twelve-month humanitarian response project in Palestinian Gatherings in Beirut and South Lebanon.
Economic, political and social instability remain pervasive throughout Lebanon, as it enters its fourth year of the deepening crisis. Poverty, unemployment and civil unrest are on the rise. Inflation by currency depreciation has been a major driver of increased poverty and food insecurity in the country, resulting in record-high food prices.
The first Lebanon IPC Acute Food Insecurity Analysis indicated that, between September and December 2022, about 1.98 million Lebanese residents and Syrian refugees, or 37% of the analyzed population, are in IPC Phase 3 (Crisis) or above. These numbers are expected to increase in 2023.
To respond to this ongoing crisis, PARD will provide twelve monthly cash transfers of approximately $27 per person (up to a cap of 5 per household) and nutritional awareness sessions to 1,034 households (4,886 individuals). The specific target group will be Syrian and Palestinian refugees from Syria, as well as vulnerable Lebanese and Palestinian Lebanese residing in in the targeted Palestinian gatherings. A total of $1,385,000 will be provided, averaging out to $110 per household per month.