Lebanon

Eradicate Extreme Poverty and Hunger

Targets

1- Reduce by half the proportion of people living on less than a dollar a day
2- Reduce by half the proportion of people who suffer from hunger

Recently, Lebanon produced relevant poverty measurement studies aiming at supporting the identification of the socio-economic problems in the country, the prioritization of the interventions to reduce regional disparities, the planning and implementation of poverty reduction initiatives and policies. In Lebanon, the population living under the poverty line reaches 28.6% (20.6 % < 4$/day; 8% < 2.4$/day). Of these, 8% are extremely poor and live below the lower poverty line estimated at US$ 2.4 per capita per day, and accordingly cannot meet their food and non-food basic needs. Per capita consumption is highest in Beirut and lowest in North Lebanon.

To monitor the change in the living conditions of the Lebanese population, ten years after the production of the 1998 Mapping, the "Comparative Mapping" was produced and published in 2007. The "Comparative Mapping" study adopted the same methodology and used the same indicators of the 1998 study and calculated deprivation using the 2004/5 data. The study shows that the percentage of deprived individuals dropped from 34% to 25.5%.

Regional disparity is also a major characteristic of poverty; while North Lebanon has 20.7% of Lebanon's population; it houses 38% of the poor and 46% of the extremely poor; compared to Beirut that hosts only 1% of the extremely poor and 2.1% of the poor population. Unskilled workers and seasonal or temporary labourers are the dominant categories for poor, and widowed women with more than three children have the highest poverty ratio, and are therefore one of most vulnerable groups.

The employment-to-population ratio was 35.7% in 2004, with a rise of its 1997 level of 31.1%. This ratio is relatively weak, compared to an average ratio of 47.8% for the Middle East, and 45%-60.9% in developed countries, implying a particularly high rate of economic dependency in Lebanon.

Unemployment rate is estimated at over 7.9%, and unemployment is particularly acute amongst Lebanese youth, aged 15-24 (48.4% from the unemployed), with young women having been far more adversely affected than young men. Youth unemployment in Lebanon is estimated to be as high as the average for the Arab region (roughly 26%), the highest of all regions.

Achieve Universal Primary Education

Targets

3- Ensure that all boys and girls complete a full course of primary schooling

Lebanon has witnessed commendable progress in the education system since the end of the war in 1991. The gross enrolment rate in pre-school education (ages 3-5 years) increased from 67.0% in 1999 to 74.0% in 2004. Primary education is almost universal: the net enrolment rate recorded an increase from 91.5% in 2001-2002 to 97.1% in 2005-2006. This last rate corresponds to 95% and 99.2% respectively for boys and girls in the same year. The survival rate (number of pupils reaching the terminal grade of primary education) stood at 96.3% in 2003, compared to 95.3% in 2000.

Nearly 86% pupils completing primary education are enrolled at the second level education in 2003; boys and girls accounting for 83% and 89% respectively. Of the total enrolment at this level of education, private education institutions shared 50% in terms of students' share and 37% in terms of number of schools, and girls' share in total enrolment accounted for 50% in 2003. The gross enrolment ratios for the lower and upper secondary levels of education were reported as 100% and 77%, respectively with a gender parity favoring the girls (GPI = 1.09) for both levels of education.

Promote gender equality and empower women

Targets

4- Eliminate gender disparity in primary and secondary education preferably by 2005, and at all levels by 2015

Lebanon has made significant progress towards achieving gender equality in Lebanon. The female illiteracy rate (as % of population 15 and Over) dropped from 27% in 1990 to 17.8% in 2003. The same rate (as % of population 15 to 24) dropped from 11% in 1990 to 5% in 2003. Primary School Enrolment for females (As Gross % of School Age Population) rose from 76.2% in 1990 to 89.4% in 2001, and Secondary School Enrolment for females (as Gross % of School Age Population) rose to 79% in 2002. Seats in parliament held by women rose from three in 2000 to six in 2005. Though still few (only 6 out of 128 MPs are women), it denotes some progress, and in 2004 for the first time women have held Ministerial positions, a total of two.

School enrolment rates for both males and females are high in Lebanon; and primary education (age groups: 5-9 and 10-14) is almost universal. The net enrolment rate recorded an increase from 91.5 per cent in 2001-2002 to 97.1 per cent in 2005-2006. This rate corresponds to 98.3 and 93.8 per cent respectively for boys and girls in the same year.

Official unemployment rates (2004) for those aged 15 years and more are estimated at 8% and is higher for females (9.6%) than males (7.4%). Highest unemployment is recorded in the 15-19 years and 20-24 years age groups (27% and 17.3%, respectively). The same trend follows for females where unemployment reaches 26.3% for those aged 15-19 years, 17.3% for the 20-24 years age group, and 10.7% for the 24-29 years age group.

On another hand, a promising progress in women political participation is the increasing number of women judges (42%) of overall judges, and it is expected that this figure will increase by 2011 to 60%. Statistics by the Ministry of Justice show that the current number of judges in higher courts is 446 (300 men and 146 women), knowing that they will be joined in the near future by 63 new judges, of whom 40 are women i.e. around 42% of the total number of judges.

As for the economic participation of females in Lebanon, analysis of female economic activity per region indicates that 69.3% of employed females are in Beirut and Mount Lebanon, whereas 10.6% are in North Lebanon, 6.7% are in Bekaa, and 13.3% are in South Lebanon and Nabatiye.

Gender differences in distribution per professional categories are evident, with more concentration of the female workers in the professionals, office employees, service workers, and unskilled labor categories, compared to higher male worker concentration in management, skilled workers, and drivers categories.

Reduce Child Mortality

Targets

5- Reduce by two thirds the mortality rate among children under five

Lebanon may achieve this goal if a number of changes are undertaken. Lebanon has witnessed significant improvement in reproductive health outcomes and indicators as clearly demonstrated in the results and findings of the Pan Arab Survey for Family Health (PAPFAM) conducted in 2004. The infant mortality rate has dropped from 28/1000 in 1996 to 26/1000 in 2000 to 18.6/1000 in 2004 despite the fact that regional disparities still exist.

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Improve Maternal Health

Targets

a- Reduce by three quarters the maternal mortality ratio
b- Achieve, by 2015, universal access to reproductive health

Lebanon made significant progress in the past few years in reducing maternal mortality at the national and regional levels. This progress was translated into improving reproductive health outcomes in terms of prenatal care and post natal care as well as proportion of births attended by skilled personnel with yet regional disparities. Similarly, there has been improvement made in the use of contraceptives - particularly for modern methods. Maternal mortality rate dropped from 140 in 1996 to 107 per 100,000 live births in 2000. The 2004 Pan Arab Survey for Family Health (PAPFAM) indicates that 96% of all births are attended by skilled health personnel.

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Combat HIV/AIDS, Malaria and other Diseases

Targets

7- Halt and begin to reverse the spread of HIV/AIDS
8- Achieve, by 2010, universal access to treatment for HIV/AIDS for all those who need it
9- Halt and begin to reverse the incidence of malaria and other major diseases

The number of reported HIV/AIDS cases is limited in Lebanon. The first case was detected in 1984, and by November 2007 the number of detected cases had reached 1056. However, the WHO estimates the number of unreported cases at 2,500. Reported cases are still few, particularly among children (2.1/100,000 cases for 0-14-year-olds), while incidence is higher for older age groups (2.9/100,000 for those aged 15- 24) and most cases are found among those aged between 31-50, constituting around 52% of total cases reported in 2006. The ratio of females to males is 1:4, showing an increase in the earlier ratio of 1:9.

Studies conducted by National AIDS Program (NAP) indicate that awareness of the disease and modes of transmission is relatively high. However, this has not been translated into increased precautionary measures. There is evidence that condom use is still relatively low, especially among those who have a risky behaviour and among youth. Collected data on AIDS is analyzed in accordance with WHO standards and published annually.

As for the tuberculosis, and according to the epidemiological data of the National Tuberculosis Program (NTP) published by the Ministry of Public Health, tuberculosis cases have declined from 983 in 1995, to 375 in 2006, as a direct effect of the implementation of the Directly Observed Treatment Short course chemotherapy (DOTS Strategy).

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Ensure Environmental Sustainability

Targets

9- Integrate the principles of sustainable development into country policies and programmes; reverse loss of environmental resources
10- Reduce biodiversity loss, achieving, by 2010, a significant reduction in the rate of loss
11- Reduce by half the proportion of people without sustainable access to safe drinking water and basic sanitation
12- Achieve significant improvement in lives of at least 100 million slum dwellers, by 2020

It remains unknown as to whether Lebanon will achieve this target, but a new MDG Report in 2008 will provide more specific progress over time based on further data analysis. Overall, progress was made towards environmental sustainability until early 2006, at which time Lebanon was ranked 36 out of 133 countries and came in first within the Arab region on the Environmental Performance Index (EPI). However, the July/August 2006 War with Israel caused significant environmental damage and imposed a significant economic burden. Water availability remains a critical issue of national importance in Lebanon due to the high demand for water, the large losses in the public water distribution networks and the high level of water pollution. In 1996, 79.3% of dwellings had sustainable access to water, with the target set at 90% in 2015. Access to wastewater networks continues to grow steadily, with 67.4% of total dwellings having access in 2004.

Solid waste in Lebanon continues to be a major environmental problem with more than 700 open dumps used by the municipalities and where 50 % of this waste is burned. This causes major underground water pollution and air pollution.

Biodiversity loss and land degradation numbers eroded further due to the July/August 2006 war which left over one million cluster bombs spread over Lebanon and the summer 2007  devastating forest fires hitting large areas of land across the country, destroying more than 2350 hectares of natural forests.

Develop a Global Partnership for Development

Targets

12- Develop further an open trading and financial system that is rule-based, predictable and non-discriminatory. Includes a commitment to good governance, development and poverty reduction-nationally and internationally
13- Address the least developed countries' special needs. This includes tariff- and quota-free access for their exports; enhanced debt relief for heavily indebted poor countries; cancellation of official bilateral debt; and more generous official development assistance for countries committed to poverty reduction
14- Address the special needs of landlocked and small island developing States
15- Deal comprehensively with developing countries' debt problems through national and international measures to make debt sustainable in the long term
16- In cooperation with the developing countries, develop decent and productive work for youth
17- In cooperation with pharmaceutical companies, provide access to affordable essential drugs in developing countries
18- In cooperation with the private sector, make available the benefits of new technologies-especially information and communications technologies

National efforts to build partnerships are critical to the achievement of the MDGs in this globalized world. Central to this has been the process of international donor conferences, the latest of which was Paris III (January 2007) with the overarching objective "to stimulate growth, create employment, reduce poverty, and maintain social and political stability". Developing international cooperation for recovery, reconstruction and reform is and remains a top priority for the Government of Lebanon (GoL). In its annual progress report on the Paris III conference, the Government emphasises its obligation to make optimal use of the increased resources pledged at Paris-III with the objective of pursuing its reform and development programs, including the achievement of the MDGs.

Data is still being collected so as to determine the progress on this MDG. Lebanon is one of the world's most heavily indebted countries and the economy has gained little from recent violent acts and the general political struggle that persists.