UNFPA Lebanon responds to women’s sexual and reproductive health needs affected by the fire in Aarsal Informal Settlement

Lebanon, October 2022 – UNFPA expresses its deepest sadness for the refugees affected by the fire that broke out in the tents and makeshift accommodations on October 5, leaving 95 families including 380 women and girls of which 25 pregnant women with no shelter “I still can’t believe that this happened to us, I keep on thinking that this is a nightmare… We had to spend the night on the street, and we lost everything even our papers” said 28-year-old Hasna.

Through the generous support from the Government of Sweden, UNFPA Lebanon and its  partners, AMEL Association, went promptly on the ground to assess and accommodate the need of these forcibly displaced vulnerable families namely women and girls by providing 410 dignity kits. The dignity kits contain essential items that preserve women’s dignity and health such as sanitary supplies, underwear, soap, headscarf, flashlights, etc. In addition to the distribution of dignity kits, midwifery care including  counselling was  provided to pregnant women affected by the incident “It is a indeed a tragedy to see all those families with no home” said Hanane, a midwife deployed few hours following the incident. “ Women and girls are quite scare; they were already living in hard conditions with no privacy or support and the fire made it worse” she ended. Three groups of 12 midwives each will be following up with the pregnant women for needed care including echography tests.

UNFPA Lebanon expressed its appreciation to the front-line responders at AMEL association, , who have been continuously supporting the affected cases since the eruption of the fire.

UNFPA’s prime concern is to help ensure that every pregnancy is wanted, every childbirth is safe and every young person's potential is fulfilled and save the lives of women and girls globally and in Lebanon within the framework of the global development goals, thereby leaving no one behind.

Through UNFPA’s support to ensure access to quality and timely SRH/GBV services to vulnerable/refugee women and adolescent girls in the Bekaa area, AMEL Association has been providing these services since 2017 through its Primary Health Care team and outreach workers awareness sessions related to SRH and GBV topics, in addition to midwifery services, subsidization of SRH services (consultations and pap smear tests) and distribution of dignity kits.