At a glance: Lebanon

The big picture

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This map does not reflect a position by UNICEF on the legal status of any country or territory or the delimitation of any frontiers.

Lebanon has achieved most of the goals of the World Summit for Children. The infant mortality rate (IMR) and under-five mortality rate (U5MR) have steadily declined with no significant gender disparity. National immunization coverage is 96 per cent, and no cases of polio have been recorded since 1994. Most national nutrition goals have been achieved for both boys and girls. Nearly all pregnant women have access to prenatal care and trained attendants during childbirth. Ninety-eight per cent of children aged six to 11 are at school, with no gender disparities, and 91 per cent of children aged three to five are enrolled in pre-schools and child-care programmes.

However the country requires major reconstruction and rehabilitating, revitalizing key social sectors and stimulating economic growth. This includes plans to rehabilitate water networks and school buildings, improve school programmes and rehabilitate the healthcare infrastructure. UNICEF will also contribute to raising awareness on landmines; increasing access to safe water and sanitation as part of the child-care and development programme; and expanding interventions specifically designed for disadvantaged groups in these regions.

Lebanese youth below the age of 25 years, who constitute more than half of the population, suffer from weak integration in the social environment and from the economic crisis. They are faced by unemployment due to lack of jobs, difficulty of getting into the work cycle and difficulty of securing a house or a place to live. Furthermore, they are directly affected by the deterioration of the educational level and system, and the changing cultural context which is leaving them helpless in front of the contradictory and changing norms around them. The programme of cooperation will comprise four programmes, three based on the life cycle of the Lebanese child, and the fourth supporting the other three.

UNICEF priorities

The child care and development programme monitors, researches, provides advocacy, technical support and procurement services; collaboration with partners in the development and applying policies and norms that promote equity and quality of maternal and child health services, with a focus on the most vulnerable groups; improving child care in pre-school institutions, and using programme experience in the Better Parenting Initiative to promote parental and community education in health, nutrition and psychosocial care practices (including promoting breastfeeding, proper complementary feeding practices and implementing the International Code of Marketing of Breast Milk Substitutes); and support to national efforts to eliminate iodine deficiency disorders, mainly through monitoring support, and to control iron deficiency anaemia, through a comprehensive approach including fortification, supplementation and health and dietary education.

The learning programme contributes to national efforts to provide access for all to a quality basic education, including for the poorest; and to improve retention, as a preventive strategy for tackling child labour. Through studies, operational research and policy dialogue with partners, UNICEF will promote the application and monitoring of the FCE law and the extension of this law up to age 15, to close the gap with the minimum working age. Working with partners in ongoing education reform, UNICEF will promote measures and policies to improve education quality and reduce drop-out rates in public schools. The programme will also support the elimination of gender stereotypes and strengthen counselling systems in public schools, the latter through equipping teachers and counsellors with skills to identify and deal with potential drop-outs. UNICEF will work with partners to improve the existing capacity of referral centres for children at risk, including those with learning difficulties.

The youth empowerment and protection programme, for young people aged 14 to 18, contributes to providing youth with skills and knowledge for the future. This is done through supporting operational research to identify priorities and actions; promoting policies and plans specific to youth; and building partnerships with government, non-governmental and private sector partners and the International Labour Organization to create development opportunities for youth. Particular attention will be given to youth living in disadvantaged areas, at-risk youth and girls who have dropped out of school. The programme also supports the development of "second chance learning" modules for out-of-school youth, and the training of youth trainers on such risks as smoking, injuries and HIV/AIDS.

In promoting children's and women's rights, particular attention is paid to improving gender statistics through training to strengthen capacities, interpersonal communication for behaviour change, as well as public education and information through the mass media. Support is given to the relevant ministries for a national centre for information on children responsible for collecting and disseminating regular reports on the situation of Lebanese children and women.