Misery beyond the war zone: Life for Syrian refugees and displaced populations in Lebanon

The ongoing crisis in Syria is forcing ever more Syrians to flee their homeland in search of safety. The United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) reported in late January that more than 165,000 refugees had officially been registered in Lebanon alone, and that almost 77,000 more were in the process of being registered ¹. An estimated 50,000 additional refugees are believed to be in the country but have not attempted to register formally as refugees. And nearly 500,000 have sought sanctuary in Turkey, Jordan, Egypt and Iraq.

The humanitarian needs of this growing population are immense and growing. Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) has been working to provide aid inside Syria since March 2011, though those efforts have been limited by security
concerns and access issues. At the same time, however, MSF has expanded its work with Syrian refugees in Lebanon, Jordan, and Iraq.

This report specifically focuses on MSF’s work with Syrian refugees and other displaced populations in Lebanon, where MSF teams are providing urgent assistance and free-of-charge medical care among people now sheltering in Tripoli and in various
locations of the Bekaa Valley.