• Budget: € 86.5 Million
• Location: Lebanon
• Date of project: February 2019 – February 2021
• Implementing Partner: UNICEF

6.7 million Syrians have fled the conflict since 2011 and are living in neighbouring countries. 1.5 million of them are estimated by the Government of Lebanon to be hosted within its borders. Prior to the onset of the Syrian crisis, poverty in Lebanon was already significant, regional disparities in living conditions were acute, and access to basic services was limited in many areas.

It is estimated that nearly 27 % of the Lebanese population, or 1 million people, were poor, living on less than USD 4 per day. This is further aggravated by the current economic and political crisis which is crippling the country and deepening poverty.

Nearly half of the Lebanese, Syrian and Palestinian populations affected by the crisis are children. Up to 1.4 million children under 18 years of age urgently need better access to basic services and social protection. Moreover, 631,209 Syrian refugee children aged 3 to 18 years, and 447,409 vulnerable Lebanese children aged 3 to 18 years, need education assistance.

The refugee situation is putting an unbearable additional strain on Lebanon’s already overstretched public sector, including its public-school system. In order to address these challenges, the Ministry of Education and Higher Education, in partnership with UN agencies such as UNICEF and donors including the European Union, launched the ‘Reaching All Children with Education’ (RACE) plan (2014-2016), followed by the RACE II plan (2017-2021) in September 2016.