Child Protection and COVID-19

Lebanon’s complex humanitarian crisis meant that children faced multiple risk factors prior to the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. Approximately 1.5 million refugees, the majority of whom lack legal status and live under the poverty line, already experienced difficulties accessing basic services, such as health and education. Compounding this, the country is experiencing a financial collapse that the World Bank has ranked among the worst since the mid1800’s. The Lebanese pound has lost 90 percent of its value and consumer prices have quadrupled.2 The dire economic conditions have impacted families’ access to food and basic services.

In Beirut, months after the pandemic began, a huge explosion at the Port of Beirut left more than 300,000 people homeless, with 80,000 children displaced to relatives’ homes where overcrowding increased the risk of COVID-19 infection.3 The combination of COVID-19 and explosion cases overwhelmed the healthcare system. Both crises have also affected the psychosocial well-being of children.