EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) in collaboration with the World Food Programme (WFP) conducted in October 2013 a multi-sectoral need assessment on a representative sample of 848 households of Palestine refugees from Syria (PRS) in all regions of Lebanon except Northern Lebanon. The main findings of the assessment were as follows: Demographics
The average household size amongst Palestinian refugees from Syria (PRS) is 6.6 members. Households outside the refugee camps are generally larger than those inside, while PRS living outside the camp in the southern regions of Lebanon (Saida and Tyre) have the largest household sizes (7.3 and 7.6 members).
Almost a quarter of all households (23 percent) are headed by women, with the highest percentage in the Bekaa region, outside the camp (43 percent).
The PRS population is relatively young, around 80 percent of households reported having children below 16 years old.
Seventy six percent of households had members with specific needs, including pregnant and nursing women (27 percent), physical disability (17 percent) and chronic illness (60 percent). Shelter
Shelter is one of the most severe problems faced by PRS families. PRS households are residing in alarmingly crowded dwellings, with an average of 4.6 persons per bedroom.
Households are also extremely constrained in their access to bathroom facilities with 8.4 people on average sharing one bathroom.
Most households (71 percent) reported paying rent for shelter. Slightly over a quarter of households (27 percent) were hosted for free.
The average monthly rent across all regions was around US$248.
Education
Enrolment rates are lower outside refugee camps. Access to education outside the camp could be more difficult as UNRWA schools, where majority of PRS children are enrolled, are predominantly located within refugee camps and surroundings.
Enrolment rate for boys and girls are the same.
Enrolment rates decrease as a child’s age increases (even within the same household): children aged 13 years and older are facing the most difficulties adjusting to UNRWA’s Lebanese curricula taught in English or French.
The main reasons for children not enrolling in schools appear to be related to the differences between school curricula, as well as transportation costs for the majority of PRS children.
Enrolment rates indicate that households are more likely to enrol children when their arrival in Lebanon is close to school registration periods.
Health
The assessment of specific needs revealed a widespread prevalence of chronic illnesses affecting around 60 percent of PRS household in Lebanon.
High rates of pregnant and nursing women were found, with more than a quarter (27 percent) of PRS households reporting at least one case within the household.
Access to health services is good, with 81 percent of households having accessed primary healthcare since their arrival in Lebanon.
Households living outside the camp have been less frequently accessing UNRWA’s primary health care and hospitalization services than households in the camps.
On average, 42 percent of surveyed households had at least one member who required hospitalization.
Child Nutrition (6-59 months)
The assessment of the nutrition of children between and 6 and 59 months old revealed poor health status. Almost 75 percent of PRS children were sick in the two weeks prior to the survey.
The assessment also revealed poor food consumption patterns. Almost all PRS children (91 percent) did not meet the minimum acceptable meal frequency levels and the majority of children (86 percent) did not have acceptable dietary diversity.
The rate of global acute malnutrition was acceptable at 3.9 percent as measured by MUAC. Expenditures, Livelihood Sources and Employment
PRS households are highly dependent on cash and food assistance from NGOs and international organizations and more than 37 percent reported this form of aid as their main source of income.
Although more than a third of PRS individuals have found temporary employment, the majority was is employed in elementary occupations on a temporary basis, and cannot rely on their wages to ensure a decent standard of living.
Only a few PRS households were able to rely on previous saving and remittances (11 percent), which leaves PRS households vulnerable to income and price shocks.
On average, surveyed households reported a monthly expenditure of US$647. Average expenditures on food was US$299 (46 percent of income) and shelter was US$177 (27 percent of income) making up around three quarters of total PRS expenditures (73 percent of income).
Food Security
Twelve percent of surveyed households were moderately food insecure, meaning that 12 percent of the households have significant gaps in food consumption.
The high proportion of expenditures on food leads to high food insecurity; around 12 percent of households are moderately or severely food insecure due to high expenditures on food.
Child labour does not appear to be widely spread amongst non-enrolled PRS youths.