EMERGENCY RESPONSEFRAMEWORK FOR BEIRUT20

20

August

Photo: Agency/Photographer

LEBANON

This document is produced by the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) in collaboration with humanitarian partners. It covers a period of three months.

EMERGENCY RESPONSE FRAMEWORK

BEIRUT CRISIS

EMERGENCY RESPONSE FRAMEWORK

On 4 August, a series of explosions at the Beirut Port caused widespread casualties and material damage. With support from disaster experts, the Government of Lebanon continues to coordinate emergency response efforts. Immediately after the blast, local and interna-tional humanitarian actors began to support thousands of affected people to meet basic needs, largely drawing on existing humanitarian capacities and supplies.

This Emergency Response Framework outlines the key phases to address the consequences of the explosion from immediate humanitarian needs to recovery and reconstruction.

This document is intended to inform donors’ ongoing support for emergency response activities and the restoration of essential public services in affected areas. Further recovery and reconstruction plans will follow once more detailed assessments are completed.

This document outlines an overarching Emergency Response Framework, provides an initial overview of immediate humanitarian needs and details specific interventions under Phase 1 and their estimated costs.

Emergency Response Framework

The Beirut Port explosion created significant immediate humanitarian needs and severe long-term conse-quences. Building on existing humanitarian response efforts, and an enhanced UN capacity, a comprehensive, effective response to this emergency requires three phases of activity. Such a plan would quickly transition from immediate humanitarian relief into recovery, recon-struction and eventually longer-term economic recovery. A flexible coordination structure will facilitate the delivery of emergency assistance to the most vulnerable populations and support transition towards subsequent phases of the response.

The activities covered in this plan will save lives, protect the most vulnerable and set the stage for subsequent recovery and reconstruction. The plan requires an esti-mated $116.9 million over the next three months. This total will help sustain the delivery of medical services, provide shelter, expand protection assistance, support basic sanitation needs, allow education activities to resume and ease growing food insecurity among the most vulnerable population.

Phase 1: Immediate humanitarian needs

Phase 1 will prioritize life-saving activities and protec-tion. These activities primarily include immediate health services for the injured, emergency shelter for people whose homes were destroyed, efforts to ensure food security, provision of psychosocial support and programmes to address air quality and prevent further spread of COVID-19. These activities would be in addi-tion to ongoing humanitarian response activities for the Lebanese and non-Lebanese population.

Preliminary total funding requirements are estimated at $66.3 million. See Table 1 for details.

Phase 2: Recovery and reconstruction

Phase 2 will deliver recovery and reconstruction activities to restore public infrastructure, rehabilitate private homes and stabilize the wider situation. Most of this work will take place outside this immediate plan. Broader engagement between humanitarian and development actors will be required, including with UN and international financial institutions.

A limited number of early Phase 2 activities are included in this plan given their immediate necessity to prevent rapid growth in humanitarian needs. These activities include support for essential services, primarily in the health sector to limit the spread of COVID-19 and prevent other communicable disease outbreaks that often follow disasters.

These early Phase 2 activities included in this plan will require an estimated $50.6 million and will be delivered concurrently with Phase 1 activities over the next three months. See Table 1 for details.

In parallel, partners will work with the Government of Lebanon, international financial institutions and other stakeholders to define and support wider Phase 2 activities.

Phase 3: Economic recovery

Lebanon faced growing socio-economic pressures prior to the port explosion. Economic recovery remains crucial and would constitute the third phase of a comprehensive response. Although Phase 3 activities are not included in this immediate response plan, the international commu-nity must support these efforts.

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OVERVIEW OF IMMEDIATE HUMANITARIAN NEEDS

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The Government of Lebanon and humanitarian actors continue to assess immediate humanitarian needs following the Beirut Port explosion. Several broad needs have already been identified that require interventions under Phase 1:

1. Emergency, intensive and specialized health care: At least 15 medical facilities, including three major hospitals, sustained partial or heavy structural damage. Additional support is required to ensure remaining medical facilities can continue to deliver primary health care, mental health support and manage the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic for thou-sands of patients.

2. Immediate shelter assistance: The area surrounding the Beirut Port sustained heavy structural damage, destroying thousands of homes. Additional shelter assistance is needed to support affected families and ensure access to safe housing conditions.

3. Counseling and family support: The explosions caused considerable trauma to thousands of people from Lebanese and non-Lebanese communities. Vulnerable populations, including women, children and the elderly, are among the most affected. Psycho-social support, family reunification and other protec-tion services are essential.

4. Water, sanitation and hygiene assistance: The explo-sion interrupted basic water and sanitation services in many neighborhoods. Many families require supplies until basic services can be restored.

5. Repairs to education facilities: Extensive damage to more than 120 public and private schools may inter-rupt learning opportunities for an estimated 55,000 Lebanese and non-Lebanese children. Emergency repairs and basic supplies are required to minimize the delay in and disruption of school activities.

6. Rapid and strategic food support: Thousands of affected people, particularly displaced families, require hot meals, food rations and other food assis-tance following the explosion. Millions more need regular food assistance due to increasing poverty and growing food insecurity. Additional stocks are required to replenish national grain reserves destroyed by the explosion at the port.

7. Logistics support for Beirut Port: The Beirut Port is expected to be inoperable for at least a month. A temporary bulk receiving facility is need for grain imports to ensure adequate national stocks. Augmen-tation of the Beirut Port facilities is essential to avoid interruptions and disruptions in food supply lines.

BEIRUT CRISIS

OVERVIEW OF IMMEDIATE HUMANITARIAN NEEDS

PHOTO CREDIT: OCHA

IDENTIFIED EMERGENCY RESPONSE PRIORITIES

TABLE 1: IDENTIFIED EMERGENCY RESPONSE PRIORITIES

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BEIRUT CRISIS

Based on available information and assessments, below are details about the interventions under Phase 1 and early Phase 2 activities in response to immediate humanitarian needs. These activities will be implemented in parallel over the next three months.

Sector InterventionsInitial estimated

costsComments

Health

Medical and surgical supplies $750,000

Personal protective equipment (PPE) $4,000,000

Tetanus vaccines/toxoids $250,000

Fuel and operation costs $1,500,000

Support for Ministry of Public Health $2,000,000

Support for Ministry of Public Health staff salaries $2,000,000

Emergency rehabilitation of primary health clinics and cold chain $9,800,000 Early Phase 2 activity

Shelter

Emergency shelter installation and cash transfers for rent for 5,000 households and installation of temporary warehouses

$4,800,000

Minor repair and rehabilitation of damaged homes and shelters $4,800,000 Early Phase 2 activity

Protection

Expansion of ongoing community-based protection programmes to affected households $1,400,000

Child protection activities, including psycho-social support, child separation, helplines and case management $700,000

WASH Water, infection prevention and hygiene kits $1,300,000

Education Emergency repairs of 120 schools damaged in the explosion $6,000,000 Early Phase 2 activity

Food security

Delivery of in-kind food rations for 250,000 highly vulnerable people $3,625,152

Expand ongoing cash assistance in Beirut area for up to 150,000 beneficiaries affected by blast $22,000,000

Stabilize wheat flour supply with delivery of quantities sufficient for 45 days of consumption $22,000,000

Logistics Establishment of temporary bulk and break/bulk receiving facility at Beirut Port $30,000,000 Early Phase 2 activity

$116,925,152