UN seeks $640 million
to face humanitarian crisis

Flash Appeal revised

to sustain through August

The United Nations revised and extended its humanitarian ‘Flash Appeal for Lebanon’, requesting an additional $331.5 million in international funding to sustain life-saving operations through August 2026. This extension brings the total overall financial requirement for the emergency response to $639.9 million, driven by broadening hostilities, sustained displacement, and severe infrastructure damage across the country. “This support would be an investment in peace, stability, and humanity itself,” said Imran Khan, the UN’s Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator for Lebanon.

$186 million already raised
According the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), the emergency response has received $185.9 million as of May 31, 2026, against the initial requirements set for the March to May period. The newly requested funds are intended to directly support 1.4 million directly affected and vulnerable individuals across multiple sectors, aligning the target population fully with the total estimated number of people in need of assistance.

Revised strategy
The revised strategy places a renewed emphasis on providing targeted assistance to the hundreds of thousands of displaced individuals living outside formal collective shelters, such as those in private rented accommodations, host arrangements, or informal settlements. For these populations, Multi-Purpose Cash Assistance (MPCA) is prioritized as the primary response modality to support basic household needs and local markets. The harmonized transfer value is established at $20 per household member up to a maximum of five members, plus a base component of $45 per household, yielding a maximum monthly transfer of $145. Sectoral cash top-ups will be utilized to cover explicit rental, shelter, and protection needs.

To address immediate economic losses, the newly introduced Livelihoods sector requests $15 million to execute short-term emergency cash-for-work initiatives. This component targets 26,800 working-age individuals to conduct community cleaning and waste management, paying daily wages of $15 for unskilled labor and $17 for persons with disabilities, without long-term employability or graduation components.

Budget breakdown
• Multi-Purpose Cash Assistance (MPCA): $134 million targeting 727,136 people via 25 implementing partners
• Food Security and Agriculture (FSA): $120.7 million targeting one million people via 77 implementing partners
• Shelter and Site Management: $88 million targeting 604,000 people via 40 implementing partners
• Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene (WASH): $80 million targeting 14 million people via 38 implementing partners
• Health Services: $74.3 million targeting 1 million people via 37 implementing partners
• General Protection: $33.2 million targeting 750,000 people via 36 implementing partners
• Gender-Based Violence (GBV) Response: $23.6 million targeting 470,000 people via 37 implementing partners
• Social Stability and Mine Action: $22.7 million targeting 13 million people via 24 implementing partners
• Education in Emergencies: $21.1 million targeting 335,000 people via 22 implementing partners
• Child Protection: $16.1 million targeting 442,000 people via 55 implementing partners
• Livelihoods (Emergency Cash-for-Work): $15 million targeting 26,800 people via 22 implementing partners
• Nutrition Programs: $6.8 million targeting 116,000 people via 16 implementing partners

Huge surge in needs
Humanitarian needs have intensified significantly since renewed hostilities began on March 2, 2026, causing widespread civilian casualties and prolonged domestic displacement. The Ministry of Public Health reported that between March 2 and June 1, 2026, more than 3,433 people were killed and 10,395 individuals were injured. UN estimates indicate that nearly one million people remain displaced from their homes, with more than 135,000 residents currently housed across 635 public collective shelters, primarily converted school buildings.

Economic deterioration, soaring inflation, and severe infrastructure disruptions are compounding the crisis. Market monitoring reports show that petrol prices have risen 85 percent since the start of the year. Concurrently, the national consumer price index for water, fuel, and electricity grew 34 percent overall, with sharper regional increases reaching 70 percent in the Bekaa, 51 percent in Nabatieh, and 49 percent in the South. The primary barrier for affected households remains affordability rather than the commercial availability of basic goods, as displaced families face depleted savings and extensive livelihood losses.

Critical public service sectors face substantial operational strain. The UN said that approximately 700,000 displaced persons are currently concentrated within just five districts, placing immense pressure on local water networks and infrastructure. Over 62 healthcare facilities are reported as damaged or closed, and 190 incidents impacting healthcare services have resulted in 128 deaths among medical professionals since March. Additionally, 446 schools and technical institutes are unavailable for educational use because they serve as collective displacement sites, leaving approximately 166,000 students relying on intermittent online learning models.

Humanitarian operations continue to encounter severe access constraints due to expanding forced displacement orders and active hostilities, particularly inside the Israeli-declared military zone in southern Lebanon where an estimated 28,000 civilians remain. UN agencies are utilizing the voluntary Humanitarian Notification System to facilitate access for essential supplies, though delivery missions face frequent postponements or disruptions.

Huge surge in urgency
UN officials warned that immediate funding is required to prevent widespread supply breaks. The Food Security and Agriculture sector projects funding and supply shortfalls within six weeks, while 42 percent of partners in the Health sector report having two to four weeks of essential medicine stocks remaining. Cash working group partners face a potential funding break starting in June, and the Logistics and Telecommunications cluster anticipates shortfalls by July if financing is not secured. The emergency response will continue to be coordinated in partnership with the Government, led by the Ministry of Social Affairs (MoSA).