Statement by Minister of Social Affairs Haneen Al-Sayyed at the Launch of the 2026 Lebanon Flash Appeal Conference

Your Excellency, Secretary-General of the United Nations,
Excellencies,
Distinguished partners,
Ladies and gentlemen,

Thank you for being here today at a moment of great urgency for Lebanon.

Over the past days, I visited collective shelters across the country and met with families who had left their homes with little on their back. Parents trying to reassure frightened children. Older persons requiring continuity of care.

Persons with disabilities facing particular challenges that are too often overlooked in emergencies. Unfortunately, there is today close to a million people in displacement, and the crisis is estimated to affect 1.3 million.

Nearly half of those affected are children, and more than half are women and girls. And the story of this emergency is not only about those displaced. Across Lebanon, host communities, municipalities, schools, and families have absorbed an immense shock. People opened their homes, shared what they had, and demonstrated extraordinary solidarity.

Within hours of the escalation on March 1, the Government of Lebanon activated its emergency response, coordinated centrally from the Grand Serail under the leadership of the Prime Minister, with operational arms deployed across all governorates.

The response is being implemented in close coordination with United Nations agencies and humanitarian partners. Today, government institutions are fully mobilized on the ground, including 2,600 teachers, 600 social workers, 6,800 civil defence personnel, and municipal teams across 24 districts.

Our response efforts are not adhoc. They are grounded in established systems, real-time data, and mechanisms that enable the rapid mobilisation of assistance based on identified needs.

These systems allow us to prioritize support where it is most urgent and ensure that resources are used efficiently and transparently.

Shelter capacity has been expanded through the use of public facilities. And access is inclusive to all as we work closely with our partners to improve shelter conditions and enhance accessibility, particularly for persons with disabilities and other vulnerable groups.

Efforts are also underway to scale up the shock-responsive safety net system to provide cash assistance for families to meet urgent needs while supporting local markets.

Transparency is essential, we are investing in tools and improving coordination through centralized registration, improved data systems, and better tracking of assistance delivery to ensure that every contribution translates into real impact for the people who need it most.

Ladies and gentlemen,

This escalation comes at a moment of profound fragility for Lebanon. Our country has only begun to regain modest momentum after years of successive crises. This emergency risks reversing hard-won progress, deepening poverty even further, and placing additional pressure on already strained services and communities.

This is why the Flash Appeal is so critical.

It is not only a request for funding. It is a framework for a coordinated response that protects people today while strengthening national systems that will remain essential beyond this emergency.

We are acting today with the future in mind. When this emergency ends, people across Lebanon should be able to look back with pride and say that their government stood by them, left no stone unturned to respond to their needs, and upheld their dignity in the most difficult of times. This is how trust is rebuilt: by demonstrating, through action, that the state remains a reliable and accountable partner to its people.

Your support for the Flash Appeal today is not only about meeting urgent needs; it is about preserving stability, protecting dignity, and restoring hope for millions of people in Lebanon, reaffirming that the government remains the ultimate source of protection and safety.
Thank