“UNICEF came to our door to check on us, and seven days after the explosions, we had water restored”

The massive August 4, 2020 explosions in the Port of Beirut left a trail of devastation that included severe damage to critical infrastructure. UNICEF's water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) team immediately started providing emergency assistance to keep vulnerable children and their families safe and healthy.

George Saroyan was 200 metres from his home when the explosion occurred. Running home, his only thoughts were of his wife and 10-day-old baby –luckily, they were not injured, even though the building was damaged, and the front door was blown off its hinges.

"Our water supply was cut – and with a new baby, we knew we needed help," says Saroyan a Lebanese resident of Karm El Zeitoun, a densely populated neighbourhood bordered on two sides by busy highways. “We don’t have another home to go to, and we don’t have the money to pay for repairs. UNICEF came to our door to check on us, and seven days after the explosion, we had water restored."

A swift response

"The team from UNICEF were the first people we saw after the explosion"

The huge cloud of dust stirred by the explosions had barely settled when members of UNICEF's WASH team started providing support, restoring water access and delivering hygiene and baby care kits.

In collaboration with partners, UNICEF re-established water supply connections in 1,060 buildings, reaching 20,765 people in 4,080 households. A total of 4,882 tanks were installed, including 111 in the three heavily affected hospitals in the Karantina, Wardiya and Geitaoui neighbourhoods.

"The team from UNICEF were the first people we saw after the explosion. Together, they quickly re-established a flow of water to the building," says Fadi Hankach, who lives in the Ashrafieh residential area.

Preserving health

The support was critical for Beirut's most vulnerable families. “After the explosion we saw that homes were destroyed, and many families lost all their possessions," says Abbas Safieddine, WASH Officer at UNICEF Lebanon.

UNICEF and partners went door-to-door through the city's shattered streets to check on vulnerable families and distribute 10,000 hygiene kits. With numerous families cut off from the water supply, the most vulnerable – particularly young children – were at increased risk of preventable diseases and illness. “The hygiene kits provide the minimum they need to help them survive,” says Safieddine.

The kits included essential items to support a family of five for up to one month. Each pack contained dental, personal and feminine hygiene items. A separate baby care kit included diapers, creams and basic clothing items.

In addition to door-to-door distribution, temporary collection points were also set up. Among the many people who showed up at the Bourj Hummoud distribution point was Sevag Armanac Kimigian, who said the kit provided not only support, but also hope. “Life in Lebanon was hard before the explosion and now, for everyone, it got even more difficult to survive. I’m a soldier in the Lebanese army serving my country, and I struggle to manage with my small family. This help from UNICEF is the first assistance we’ve received," he said at the time. "But even small things like this make me feel better - it gives me hope that we will survive."

UNICEF also restored essential services to the Karantina Hospital, which, on the evening of August 4, was a scene of death and devastation. UNICEF and partners were quickly on site, replacing 20 damaged 1,000-litre water tanks and securing leaking pipes. Following a site survey and a detailed technical assessment, the water tanks were installed and connected in just one day. Karantina houses some of Beirut’s most vulnerable families and children. The state hospital is a focal point of the neighbourhood’s health infrastructure and the home of the national childhood vaccination programmes.