Literatura científica selecionada sobre o tema "Lebanese Humanitarian assistance"

Compounding humanitarian and political crises within and across countries have been met with shrinking public resources for coordination, recovery, and mitigation. This resource constrained humanitarian environment presents opportunities for multinational corporations to supplement budgets and actively participate in new markets through connecting with humanitarian work. Given the well-established influence of corporations on public health, an assessment of industry funding to humanitarian assistance is necessary especially in the fragile context of Lebanon with a substantial refugee population and multiple compounding crises. This paper examines three aspects of corporate assistance in humanitarian crises in Lebanon. It investigates the modality of corporate assistance to humanitarian agencies, the extent to which humanitarian agency staff are aware of implications of this assistance along with any ethical considerations related to it, and both the risks and benefits for corporations and people. This study explores the views of 14 local and international humanitarian agencies in Lebanon) through in-depth interviews conducted between 2020 and 2022. Interviews were recorded, transcribed and subject to thematic analysis. All agencies participating in the study provided social and health assistance as well as education, vocational training, and other services to refugees or Lebanese. Findings indicate that the majority of them receive corporate funding in varying amounts and in-kind contributions to support various projects. Despite imposed conditions by the corporations, such as posting logos and stories, the agencies perceived the benefits of partnering, mentioning financial assistance in time of need, and flexible agendas that outweigh the risks of conflicts of interest of corporate branding on the populations they serve. Benefits to the corporations themselves relate to corporate social responsibility, increased market reach and visibility. Challenges in partnering with for-profits include ethical considerations and programmatic issues, however no guidelines were reported to exist to detect corporate conflicts of interest, instead most of the agencies rely on their value systems for screening.

Abstract Background Corporate funding has been described to be beneficial for humanitarian assistance in times of shrinking financial resources globally. Despite the growing global research on commercial determinants and their impact on population health, evaluations of corporate partnerships with humanitarian organizations and victims of multiple crises are rare. Conflicts of interest and corporate interference in public health policy and practice are well-documented. Health-harming industries are currently funding large scale projects for refugees in the eastern Mediterranean region which has witnessed humanitarian crises from armed conflicts. For example, food and beverage corporations and tobacco industries have funded projects to integrate migrants in their host countries, and offered educational scholarships to refugee children in Europe and beyond. Methods This research presents the experiences of humanitarian agencies in Lebanon on their funding from corporations, and the perceived influences on the populations served over a two-year period coinciding with a long-lasting refugee crisis, the COVID-19 pandemic, an epic economic collapse and the devastation of a large part of Beirut from a cataclysmic explosion in its port. The study used qualitative in-depth interviews with representatives of non-governmental organizations working in Lebanon with Lebanese and refugees. Results Funding from corporations starts with a two-way communication process between the organizations and the corporations, which recently started to be initiated by the corporations themselves after the Beirut blast. Funding from the tobacco, food and beverage industries is reported to come with conditions described to enhance their visibility, yet described as necessary, helps disadvantaged communities and sustains the organizations’ operations. Other results relating to the availability of guidelines for detecting and managing COI from corporate funding are discussed.

Robust food systems are crucial for ensuring access to affordable and nutritious food, particularly in times of crisis. Economic instability, currency devaluation, and political turmoil can disrupt food systems, leading to higher food prices, compromised nutrition, and increased vulnerability. Lebanon is a stark example of this, where a catastrophic explosion in Beirut’s Port in 2020 worsened an existing economic and humanitarian crisis. The depreciation of the Lebanese currency led to soaring food prices, impacting people’s ability to buy food, and pushing many into poverty, illustrating the significant impact of the state food systems during crises (FAO, 2021). In times of crisis, a simplified food system, relying on emergency food aid supplies, replaces conventional food system, as food aid and cash transfers become the primary source upon which the affected population depends to ensure their food security and meet their essential needs. In this article we report on research conducted between 2020 and 2022 focusing on the impacts of the Beirut explosion on food security status of the permanent residents the Karantina neighborhood—the closest residential area to the Beirut port. We surveyed 100 households chosen at random, examining shifts in food security and nutrition at three intervals: 6 months prior to the explosion, 6 months following it, and 2 years after the event. The findings revealed a sharp decline in food security and diet quality among residents in the two-year period following the explosion. The proportion of food-secure households fell from 71% to 2%, while those with acceptable food consumption decreased from 96% to 30%. Additionally, income and debt situations worsened significantly. Almost 95% of residents resorted to crisis coping strategies, such as using savings, borrowing money for food, selling furniture, withdrawing children from school, and reducing education and health expenses, rendering them highly vulnerable. Food and cash assistance were provided to all households for 6 months to one-year post-explosion, resulting in improved food security and consumption after 6 months. However, these gains diminished 2 years later, once the assistance ended, revealing a lack of resilience in the food system. In conclusion, soon after the assistance stopped, the prolonged deterioration of Lebanon’s economic situation, compounded by multiple crises, pushed these households further into poverty, exacerbating food insecurity. This research underscores the critical importance of sustained support and comprehensive economic reforms to rebuild food systems and promote nutrition resilience in crisis-affected regions.

While the fighting in the Syrian civil war has mostly stopped, an estimated 5.6 million Syrians remain living in neighboring countries1. Of these, an estimated 1.5 million are sheltering in Lebanon. Ongoing efforts by organizations such as UNHCR to support the refugee population are often ineffective in reaching those most in need. According to UNHCR's 2019 Vulnerability Assessment of Syrian Refugees Report (VASyR), only 44% of the Syrian refugee families eligible for multipurpose cash assistance were provided with help, as the others were not captured in the data. In this project, we are investigating the use of non-traditional data, derived from Facebook advertising data, for population level vulnerability assessment. In a nutshell, Facebook provides advertisers with an estimate of how many of its users match certain targeting criteria, e.g., how many Facebook users currently living in Beirut are “living abroad,” aged 18–34, speak Arabic, and primarily use an iOS device. We evaluate the use of such audience estimates to describe the spatial variation in the socioeconomic situation of Syrian refugees across Lebanon. Using data from VASyR as ground truth, we find that iOS device usage explains 90% of the out-of-sample variance in poverty across the Lebanese governorates. However, evaluating predictions at a smaller spatial resolution also indicate limits related to sparsity, as Facebook, for privacy reasons, does not provide audience estimates for fewer than 1,000 users. Furthermore, comparing the population distribution by age and gender of Facebook users with that of the Syrian refugees from VASyR suggests an under-representation of Syrian women on the social media platform. This work adds to growing body of literature demonstrating the value of anonymous and aggregate Facebook advertising data for analysing large-scale humanitarian crises and migration events.

With the closing of the Cold War the world faced several wars and conflicts that devasted countries and regions alike. Extioperiences and studies showed that post-conflict countries have a 25% chance of returning to either a partial or full-blown war situation (UNDP 2010). This led to the initian of new approaches to rebuilding war-affected countries – that were spearheaded by either the direct as well as the indirect intervention of international organizations and donor states – whom are considered as "public entrepreneurs’’. International entities’ involvement in post-conflict countries (PCC) have shifted from simple peacekeeping activities and humanitarian aid projects (in some cases) to direct public sector interventionism (Hillman 2013). Such project were justified by a consensus that perceives the failure and weakness of public institutions as the (or at least one of the) main source(s) of conflicts (Collier 2009; The World Bank 2012). This is based on a neoliberal approach that views that if the state is rebuilt, public administration were restored, services were provided equally among citizens, and the economy is developed, then there is no reason to return to a state of war. Hence, to ensure a sustainable peace-base and prevent future conflicts, the international community must rebuild public administrations, ensure the delivery of public services, and review their managerial public model to ensure the provision of services to the deprived communities (Brinkerhoff 2007; Chandy 2011; The World Bank 2011). We can highlight a process of artificial reconstruction of PCCs that is initiated, launched, and financed by international entities, thus, justifying their long-term presence (Ankersen 2008). This is done by intrinsically creating new incentive structures, and by installing public management models capable of collecting and managing public expenditures in a way that is perceived as both efficient and fair by the concerned citizens (Boyce 2007).Thus, such programs and projects gained both legitimacy and credibility both locally internally and by the international community (UN 2012). However, in recent years, experts have considered the neoliberal post-conflict public sector state-building model as being inefficient, ineffective, insufficient, and inappropriate (given its technical limitations) as each country / region has its own environmental specificities (e.g. socio-cultural, historical, anthropological, political, etc.) which can affect the deployment of the new system as is (Blunt and Turner 2005; Narayan and Petesch 2010). Also, several reconstructed public sectors have failed and many post-conflict countries have returned to a state of war. The purpose of this paper is to review the success of the post-conflict public sector reconstruction projects that are both initiated and implemented by international entities. In other words, the aim of the study is to review the post-conflict performance indicators (PCPI) applied to public projects. The idea is to assess the quality of implemented projects to support a successful transition and recovery from conflict, as well as to foster sustainable growth, deprivation reduction and the effective use of development assistance. The PCPI is usually based on multiple technical criteria, reference systems as well as a holistic understanding of the concerned environment’s security, political economic and social spheres. A Lebanese study spanning a network of 14 International organizations is explored via semi-structured interviews. The World Bank’s PCPI framework was used to provide insight into the overall dynamics of performance management and the elaboration of indicators related to public sector projects in a post-conflict environment while considering contextual, environmental, and operational factors. The research is based on a qualitative empirical data specific to Lebanon in terms of PCPI. Key findings revolved around four clusters that are focused on the most relevant issues faced by a post-conflict country when going through a reconstruction phase. The Lebanese example highlights several shortcomings when it comes to both project implementation and outcome : Cluster 01 – Economic Management and Structural policies : Huge failures when it comes to macroeconomic management, non-functioning public administration, failed PPP initiatives, public debt problems (especially when it comes to obtaining regular access to external concessional resources), financial crisis, failed budget administration, and slow incubation of private initiatives and job creation projects, etc. Cluster 02 – Social Inclusion and Human Development : Non serious capacity building as a heavy reliance on INGOs and international interventionism (in terms of resources, capacities, skills, competences, etc.) still exists. Also, rural marginalization (lack of development projects), gender inequality, inequitable access to economic and productive resources, etc. Cluster 03 – Governance : Widespread corruption, failure to deliver public services, lack accountability, absence of transparency, class ruling, conflict of interest, etc. Cluster 04 – Post-Conflict Risk : Lack of security, terror zones, armed militias presence, microstates, de facto parallel illegal systems of ervice provision’’, skirmishes (internal and external), widespread violence and crime, etc. Cluster 01 – Economic Management and Structural policies : Huge failures when it comes to macroeconomic management, non-functioning public administration, failed PPP initiatives, public debt problems (especially when it comes to obtaining regular access to external concessional resources), financial crisis, failed budget administration, and slow incubation of private initiatives and job creation projects, etc. Cluster 02 – Social Inclusion and Human Development : Non serious capacity building as a heavy reliance on INGOs and international interventionism (in terms of resources, capacities, skills, competences, etc.) still exists. Also, rural marginalization (lack of development projects), gender inequality, inequitable access to economic and productive resources, etc. Cluster 03 – Governance : Widespread corruption, failure to deliver public services, lack accountability, absence of transparency, class ruling, conflict of interest, etc. Cluster 04 – Post-Conflict Risk : Lack of security, terror zones, armed militias presence, microstates, de facto parallel illegal systems of ervice provision’’, skirmishes (internal and external), widespread violence and crime, etc.