Lebanon Response Plan 2025 – Introduction (28 Jan 2025)

The year 2024 marked an exceptionally challenging time for Lebanon, marked by the convergence of multiple crises that strained the country’s social, economic, financial and environmental stability. The escalation of hostilities along Lebanon’s southern border, which began on October 8, 2023 further compounded the challenges. The impact of this escalation has been severe, with widespread internal displacement, destruction of infrastructure, housing, land, businesses, and government buildings in many region and further deterioration essential services such as health, education, water, energy and social protection systems. Vulnerable populations, already reeling from Lebanon’s protracted crises, continued to bear the brunt of these compounded hardships.

In parallel, Lebanon has been facing an extended political vacuum that has hampered its response to the impact of the war and immediate recovery efforts. With the cessation of hostilities and related commitments on enhanced security arrangements towards the implementation of UNSCR 1701 between Lebanon and Israel on 27 November 2024, as well as a newly elected president, Joseph Aoun, and the nomination of a new prime Minister Nawaf Salam, 2025 has begun with a renewed sense of optimism for stability across Lebanon. At the same time, the fall of the Assad regime in Syria, on December 8, 2024 has shifted the geo-regional landscape, causing a new wave of displaced Syrians to cross into Lebanon, as well initial spontaneous returns to Syria. T The Lebanon Response Plan 2024-2025 (LRP) is an integrated humanitarian and stabilization response plan co-led by the Government of Lebanon and the United Nations, supported by international and national partners. The plan sets out to respond to challenges in a holistic manner through providing immediate assistance to and ensuring protection of vulnerable populations; supporting service provision through national systems; and supporting Lebanon’s economic, social and environmental stability. Based on the needs identified by affected communities, the Government and its partners, the LRP presents a prioritized and evidence-based appeal of $2.72 billion in 2024 and $3.16 billion in 2025 to fund partners’ coordinated interventions across ten sectors.

Responding to the imperative to work in an as efficient and coordinated way as possible, including through humanitarian–peace–development nexus approach amid the multiple drivers of crisis in Lebanon, for a second year in a row, the consolidated LRP brings together efforts under the previous Lebanon Crisis Response Plan (which targeted displaced Syrians, vulnerable Lebanese, Palestinian Refugees from Syria(PRS) and Palestine Refugees in Lebanon (PRL), 2015-2023) and the Emergency Response Plan (which targeted vulnerable Lebanese, PRL and migrants, 2021-2023).
As part of the LRP, an extended Flash Appeal, calling for an additional $371.4 million, was launched for the period January to March 2025, to enable partners to rapidly deliver principled and effective humanitarian assistance and protection to one million people directly impacted by the recent escalation of hostilities and displacement (IDPs & returning IDPs). The Flash Appeal is fully complementary to, and supportive of, the Lebanon Response Plan (LRP) 2025, which remains the primary planning framework for the humanitarian and stabilization response, co-led with the Government of Lebanon (GoL).

The LRP recognizes that the needs of Lebanon’s institutions and people have substantially increased and changed in recent years amid the unprecedented financial, economic and public health crises, and exacerbated by the escalation of the conflict in 2024 as well as the regional instability. Alongside displaced populations and migrants residing in Lebanon also deeply affected by the compounded crises, for many Lebanese, access to public services and assistance is an essential life-line. Working to bolster vital national systems and ensure support to those who need it most is our common endeavor. In addition, with the cessation of hostilities, focus is shifting towards return and recovery, where stabilization and recovery needs are immense.
In line with commitments made at successive Brussels Conferences on Supporting the Future of Syria and the Region, the Lebanon Response Plan also recognizes the duty of the international community to support Lebanon, given its role as host country. Lebanon continues to host the most internationally displaced people per capita and per square kilometer in the world. More than thirteen years since the start of the crisis in Syria, the impact on Lebanon’s social, environmental and economic stability remains significant.

The donor community has provided steadfast support through more than $14 billion of humanitarian and stabilization funding to Lebanon since 2015. Given the substantial assistance priorities and overall fluidity, enhanced, flexible donor support will be pivotal, as the development of durable solutions at scale will take time in light of the uncertain situation in Syria. Through the LRP, in turn, the government of Lebanon and its partners commit to ensuring efficiency, accountability, and transparency.

The cessation of the hostilities, the election of a President and the nomination of a new Prime Minister all contributed to a broader emphasis on the stabilization component of the LRP. This is linked to a much stronger focus on a nexus approach, renewed efforts for stronger socio-economic, environmental and financial institutions able to extend basic service delivery, access to diversified livelihood opportunities and support to MSMEs, implementation of effective recovery and stabilization interventions, attraction of foreign investments to ultimately leading to better socio-economics dividends.

The temporary nature of the LRP serves to reinforce the essential collaborative action that is of course required outside of the confines of a humanitarian and stabilization response plan to secure lasting solutions for a better future for people across the country. This includes action to manage multifaceted, regional displacement crises, including through enhanced border security and labor migration management, and addressing barriers to return in safety and dignity; to advocate for and support the country’s reform agenda; and to address pre-existing structural development constraints and support Lebanon’s sustainable development trajectory, among other common objectives shared by the Government of Lebanon and the international community.