SOUTHERN LEBANON — The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) has requested an additional $25 million in funding to continue maternal health and protection services in Lebanon through August 2026. This appeal follows recent airstrikes that damaged healthcare facilities and women's safe spaces in southern Lebanon.
During a recent weekend, airstrikes damaged a primary healthcare center and a safe space for women and girls in southern Lebanon. A separate strike damaged a public hospital that provides maternal healthcare. The agency's initial emergency appeal for the crisis is 30 percent funded.
Anandita Philipose, UNFPA Representative in Lebanon, said, "When maternity wards and hospitals are damaged and destroyed, it is pregnant women who cannot get life-saving services." Approximately 13,500 pregnant women are displaced in Lebanon, with an estimated 1,500 of them expected to give birth within the next 30 days. Furthermore, about 1,500 women remain in southern Lebanon without reliable access to skilled medical care or safe delivery facilities.
UNFPA is providing mobile maternal health services, psychological support, and protection assistance in collaboration with local partners and Lebanese authorities. Safety assessments of local shelters have identified issues such as overcrowding, inadequate lighting, insufficient privacy, and unsafe sanitation systems. Officials warned that insufficient funding could result in mobile health teams reducing or halting services in hard-to-reach communities. She added, "Scaling down our operations means cutting off more than 75,000 women from critical gender-based violence protection, case management, and safe spaces at the exact moment that they need it the most."
No independent assessment was available for this report.