What we do / Social and Local Development
Poverty is a serious problem in Lebanon despite some apparent improvement in the last decade. Poverty estimates place extreme poverty at 8 per cent of the Lebanese population in 2005. This implies that almost 300 thousand individuals in Lebanon are unable to meet their food and non food basic needs. Around 28.5 per cent of the population are below the upper poverty line translates into about US$4 per capita per day. There is a huge disparity in the distribution of poverty with a heavy concentration in certain regions. Hermel, Baalbeck and Akkar witness the highest poverty rates whereas it goes down to 0.7 percent in Beirut. Data also point to an increase in urban poverty especially in Lebanon's largest cities suburbs such as Beirut, Tripoli and Saida, as illustrated by poverty-driven symptoms (child labour, over-crowdedness and deteriorated environment conditions.
Unemployment rates in Lebanon are high among the poor and the majority of the poor are unskilled workers. Gender also affects unemployment rates; women in poor households are at a greater disadvantage. Also, youth unemployment is aggravated by poverty; it is a cause that reproduces poverty and it is also a manifestation of poverty. Half of the extremely poor educated youth (aged15-24) holding a secondary degree, are unemployed, one third of the extremely poor university graduates are unemployed (contrasted with one out of five for better off university graduates) and the unemployment rate for non-poor persons holding a secondary degree is half the rate for the extremely poor. Households affected by a combination of risk factors face the highest risk of poverty and location interacts with the labor market profile to produce different welfare pictures among individuals. Since the early nineties, the Government of Lebanon has been exerting continuous efforts to improve the social indicators by promoting social development.
UNDP's support in the area of poverty reduction focuses on policy and operational support. At the upstream level, UNDP provides policy advice for the development of national policies for social development and poverty reduction, in addition to building the country statistical database for poverty measurement and monitoring. At the downstream level, UNDP supports the implementation of local development/ local governance initiatives in four poorest areas of the country, including Southern Lebanon, the Bekaa, North Lebanon and Beirut Southern Suburbs.
UNDP continues to forge partnerships at the local level with local government institutions and civil society organizations to build their capacity for the implementation of targeted demonstrative initiatives for poverty reduction and employment generation. Focusing on the rural poor, services may include micro-finance, business advisory services or community development. Demonstration programs also target locally generated initiatives, facilitate cross-learning, and encourage the development of local networks and the up-scaling of local initiatives.
In addition, given Lebanon's history, UNDP has been supporting initiatives aiming at building a culture of tolerance and peace. UNDP is supporting surveys for collective identity, and will implement capacity development activities targeting local government, non-governmental organizations, youth groups, and the media to build a culture of peace in the country.
The July 2006 war on Lebanon resulted in severe damage to private and public infrastructure, and a complete dislocation of the economy. By the time of cessation of hostilities, nearly 1,200 people had died and about 4,400 were injured. About a quarter of Lebanon's population was displaced during the war, and about 500,000 people saw their houses destroyed or damaged. There were additional deaths and dozens of injured by unexploded ordinances (UXOs) after the war ended as a consequence of the estimated 1.2 million cluster bombs that were fired into Lebanon during the final days of hostilities. The areas hardest hit by the war are the same areas that traditionally witnessed the highest marginalization and poverty. In the aftermath of the July 2006 war, UNDP supported the Government in the preparation for the Stockholm Early Recovery Conference (August 2006) and the Paris III Conference (January 2007). In addition, UNDP implemented a series of early recovery activities targeting the restoration of lives and livelihoods in more than 250 communities in South Lebanon, the Bekaa, and the Beirut Southern Suburbs.
Lebanon
