User:Ad2468/Refugees of the Syrian Civil War in Lebanon

Barriers to Aid Access

Many factors like legal status, a lack of resources and poverty hinder Syrian refugees in Lebanon from accessing necessary aid to meet their basic needs. According to a 2019 Human Rights Watch World Report, 74% of the 1.5 million Syrian refugees residing in Lebanon do not have legal status. To avoid detainment, arrest, or deportation, illegal Syrian refugees limit their movements as much as possible. Out of fear of prosecution for their legal status, refugees' access to vital aid and services becomes more limited.

A study assessing the impacts of the Syrian refugee crisis on Lebanon found that the large influx of Syrian refugees into the country strained infrastructure including electricity, water, sanitation, municipal services, transportation and schools. A Lebanon Humanitarian Fund report determined that the strain on infrastructure increases poverty and tensions between communities and heightens socioeconomic inequalities. Due to the resource strain, the Lebanese Ministry of Education is unable to meet the needs of the 488,000-school aged Syrian refugee children in Lebanon, causing half of them to remain out of school. Food assistance provision was also determined to be insufficient, with 91% of Syrian refugees experiencing some degree of food insecurity in 2017. Inadequate access to healthcare services is also predicted to cause higher mortality rates within the Syrian refugee population.

Nine out of ten Syrian refugee families currently live under the poverty line, making it difficult to access necessary services. A Human Rights Watch report determined that severe economic strain makes school enrollment difficult for Syrian refugee families because of the necessary enrollment fees, transportation costs and school supply costs. According to the International Labour Organization for Arab States, poverty leads Syrian refugee children to work dangerous jobs to support their families instead of attending school, subjecting them to labor exploitation.

A 2016 RAND Corporation research report on the Syrian refugee crisis in Lebanon found that aside from illegal status, poverty and resource scarcity, the lack of information on aid resources is what prevents refugees from accessing necessary resources. The lack of access to aid resources is attributed to an information gap in understanding what resources are available and under what conditions one can or cannot be eligible for aid. Additionally, Syrian refugees in Lebanon reportedly perceived aid provision as " random, unfair, corrupt, unequal, insufficient, or unresponsive. "