End of Mission Report
Lebanon
March 2013
Report author (s) / Abel Augustinio and Monica RamosFinal report submitted on / March 13th, 2013
Report distribution / March 15th, 2013
16 / EoMReport_Lebanon
Executive Summary
Parameter / DescriptionLocation: / Beirut
Type of Disaster: / Conflict in Syria
Disaster strike date / March 2011
Disaster Level: / L3 declared for the region from UNICEF, UNHCR and IASC.
Emergency Type / Refugees
No. of Affected People / 339,187 Refugees[1] (215,318 Registered Refugees, 123,369 Pending Registration) (http://data.unhcr.org/syrianrefugees/country.php?id=122)
Mission Type / Technical support to WASH needs assessment for Syrian refugees and other groups affected by Syrian conflict in Lebanon.
Mission Requested by / WASH Sector Working Group
Mission Objective / Provide support to assess the WASH needs of Syrian refugees and other groups affected by the Syrian conflict in Lebanon.
Mission Timeframe / 08/02/2013 – 07/03/2013
Mission at a Glance
Summary of Deployment
16 / EoMReport_Lebanon1 Introduction
1.1 Context
Unrest in the Syrian Arab Republic has been on-going since March 2011 and has continued to affect innocent civilians, with the most vulnerable being that of women and children. What began as a popular uprising, has now evolved into an internal armed conflict between the government forces, and its various security and law enforcement institutions and various opposition armed groups, including, the Free Syrian Army.
After two years of conflict, the humanitarian situation in Syria continues to deteriorate with recent months seeing an escalation and deepening of violence across many regions of the country, most specifically, the densely populated urban areas of Daar’a, Homs, Hama, Rural Damascus, Aleppo, Deir Ez-Zor and Idleb, in addition to rural areas of Lattakia. Other governorates, such as, Al Hassakeh, Ar Raqqah and Tartous have also seen an influx of Internally Displaced People (IDPs). As of February 2013, the United Nations (UN) estimates approximately 4 million people are in need of humanitarian assistance inside of Syria. Due to the conflict in Syria, people started fleeing to neighbouring countries including Lebanon. As of Friday, March 8th, 2013 UNHCR has registered 215,318 Syrian refugees in Lebanon, with an additional 123,369 pending registration. In addition, there are other groups affected by the crises, such as, non-registered refugees (estimated at an additional 25% of registered refugees), Palestinian displaced from Syria (PSD), Lebanese returnees, and migrant workers who are unable to return to Syria.
The presence of refugees in the local communities of Lebanon has resulted in an increased pressure on existing water and sanitation infrastructure. To date, approximately, nine WASH needs assessments, including multi-sectoral assessments with a WASH component, have been carried out by WASH partners in Lebanon in relation to Syrian conflict throughout the country. WASH needs assessments have been conducted in different geographic locations depending on the continuous influx of Syrian into Lebanon, thus, it is important to note that the previously conducted assessments have less relevance in current context. Despite significant efforts by WASH partners in country, there is a need to provide support to assess the WASH needs of Syrian refugees and other groups affected by the Syrian conflict in Lebanon. Additionally, the credibility and accuracy of assessment results serve as the basis for needs based planning and can have long-lasting effects on a wide array of aspects, ranging from the quality of interagency coordination, to donor funding levels, to relationships with the national government, local NGOs, and disaster-affected populations. Thus, the timeliness and quality of assessments help determine an effective humanitarian response and priority plan, including that of emergency preparedness.
1.2 Geography / Location
Following is a summary of the geography and location profile for the country of Lebanon.
· Population: 4,140,289, estimated as of July 2012 (CIA 2013), with 87% living in urban areas (CIA 2013 and UNICEF / WHO, JMP 2012);
· Total size: 10.400 sq km (CIA 2013);
· Lebanon borders Syria and Israel (CIA 2013);
· Terrain: narrow coastal plain, valley and mountains in the east (CIA 2013);
· Arable land: 16.35% (CIA 2013)
· Climate: Mediterranean, mild to cool, wet winters with hot, dry summers; Lebanon
mountains experience heavy winter snows (CIA 2013).
1.3 Country WASH
Freshwater extraction in Lebanon is approximately 1.38 km3 per year for domestic (33%), industrial (1%) and agricultural (67%) uses. As of 2000, the per capita amount of water for domestic use was 385 m3 per year (CIA 2013).
· 100% of the population uses improved water sources, with 100% in urban areas and 100% in rural areas (UNICEF/WHO, JMP 2012);
· 100% of the urban population uses improved sanitation facilities, with no data available for national averages or population residing in rural areas (UNICEF/WHO, JMP 2012)
It is important to note that these figures are estimates and are not currently representative of the WASH situation in the country, particularly, due to the influx of refugees as a result of the conflict in Syria. Furthermore, it is recognized by the JMP, that water quality at the national level in all countries is an issue, as it is prohibitively expensive and logistically complicated and thus, is measured using a proxy i.e. the proportion of the population using ‘improved’ drinking water sources, defined as those that, by the nature of their construction, are protected from outside contamination, particularly, faecal matter. However, some of these sources may not be adequately maintained and therefore may not actually provide ‘safe’ drinking water. As a result, it is likely that the number of people using safe water supplies has been over-estimated (UNICEF/WHO, JMP 2012 pg. 4).
With that said, recent assessments that have been carried out by key partners of the WASH Sector Working Group have noted issues with access to improved water sources, water quality and sanitation facilities in both urban and rural areas. However, due to a lack of a national survey, representative of the WASH situation in the country, there is no additional reliable data that can be cited to quantify access and use of improved water sources and sanitation facilities in urban and rural areas of the country.
1.4 Security
The security situation in the country can be quite dynamic, as the country has experienced targeted political assassinations, inter-sectarian violence, attacks against the Army and large demonstrations with little or no warning. Additionally, the border area with Israel remains volatile, with irregular events continuing to occur, such as, the firing of rockets, or incursions by one side or the other across the border. Likewise, the situation in Syria continues to cause friction between groups within Lebanon, especially, in Tripoli and other areas in the north of Lebanon, along with particular areas of Beirut.
1.5 Coordination Mechanism
In Lebanon, the WASH Sector coordination meetings take place every two weeks, to coordinate issues related to response and preparedness. Key members of the WASH Sector Working Group, include, UNHCR (lead), UNICEF (co-lead), UNFPA, ACF, CLMC (Caritas Lebanon Migrant Centre), CISP, DRC, GVC, Medair, Mercy Corps, NRC, Oxfam, PU-AMI, Relief International, War Child Holland and WVI.
1.6 Term of Reference (ToR)
The ToR for the deployment was defined and agreed upon prior to arrival in country, in consultation with the UNHCR WASH Officer and UNICEF Environmental Specialist for WASH Sector based on feedback and input from the WASH Sector Working Group. During the course of the deployment, the original ToR was revised based on the identified needs of the WASH Sector Working Group and is attached in Annex A.
1.6.1 Specific ToR/Objective
The general objective of assessment is to provide support to assess the WASH needs of Syrian refugees and other groups affected by the Syrian crisis in Lebanon. The assessment team supported the WASH Sector Working Group by carrying out the following functions based on priority areas that were determined in collaboration with the WASH Sector Working Group.
Table 1. Specific Tasks and Actions
Specific Tasks / ActionsStandardization of assessment methodology and development of a continuous needs assessment framework (including training and capacity building); / · Review existing assessment methodologies, tools and findings;
· Define indicators and common operational data sets;
· Define common sample size and sampling techniques;
· Develop common reporting format for data analysis and representation of findings;
· Develop standard operating procedures (SOP) for assessment framework and continuous needs monitoring;
· Organize training of WASH sector on assessments
Capacity assessment of WASH sector response in country / · Mapping of assessment and response coverage;
· Secondary data review of assessment reports and funding proposals;
· Data collection tool, collection and analysis for assessment of key WASH agencies capacity (staff, stocks, funding etc.);
· Report highlighting gap analysis, key findings and recommendations
2 Assessment Methodology
2.1 Identification of Priority Areas
The first part of the deployment focused on the assessment team conducting a scoping mission to identify possible WASH needs assessment gaps of Syrian refugees and other groups affected by the Syrian crisis in Lebanon. A total of 11 bilateral meeting with key members of the WASH Sector Working Group, including, attendance at the UNRWA WASH Coordination Meeting focused on Palestine Refugee from Syria, were carried out to identify potential priorities for technical support. The contact list for meetings with key WASH partners is located in Annex B. Following is the list of options identified:
· Mapping of priority sites to be assessed in the governorates of the South, Bekka (Hermel District) and/or North (Akkar District);
· Support joint assessments: WASH and Shelter in priority sites;
· Mapping of needs for Palestinians Camps (Palestinians Displaced from Syria and Syrians);
· Mapping needs for Lebanese Returnees from Syria;
· Support joint assessments : WASH and Shelter in sites identified as transit camps;
· Technical and environmental impact assessment on desludging / solid waste disposal options;
· Contingency planning : standard operating procedure (SOP) for activation mechanism;
· Standardization of assessment methodology / assessment framework;
· Capacity assessment of WASH sector response in country;
· Advocacy (i.e. all issues, donor strategies etc.)
During the WASH Sector Working Group meeting held on Wednesday, February 13th, 2013 the WASH partners discussed the potential options and the following three options were defined as priority:
· Mapping of priority sites to be assessed in the governorates of the South, Bekka (Hermel District) and/or North (Akkar District);
· Standardization of assessment methodology and development of a continuous needs assessment framework (including training and capacity building);
· Capacity assessment of WASH sector response in country
The assessment team worked with the Technical Working Group (TWiG) for Assessments, designated by the WASH Sector Working Group, composed of representatives from the following organizations, ACF, CISP, Oxfam, PU-AMI and WVI to identify the core tasks to be completed for each priority area and developed a detailed work plan during the meeting held on Friday, February 15th, 2013. During this meeting, it was decided that the mapping of priority sites to be assessed in South / Bekka (Hermel) / North (Akkar) would not be the primary focus for the deployment, as the TWiG agreed that the assessment team should not focus on carrying out primary data collection. Thus, only two of the three priority areas would be focused upon: 1) Standardization of assessment methodology and development of a continuous needs assessment framework (considered most important) and 2) Capacity assessment of WASH sector response in country.
Additionally, a mapping of areas that have been assessed and responses by WASH partners in country to better understand coverage was carried out with the support of the assessment team, in collaboration with the Information Management Officers (IMO) from UNHCR and UNICEF.
2.1.1 Standardized Assessment Framework
The assessment team carried out a secondary data review, focused on assessment report and summarizing key WASH findings to better identify commonalities in sampling methods, data collection methods, collected data sets, data analysis, findings and proposed responses. Based on this review, the assessment team drafted common indicators and data sets, guidelines on sampling and data collection methods and a template for reporting as part of the standardized assessment framework for the WASH sector. All drafted documents are attached in Annex C.
A workshop was planned and presented focused on improving the systematic approach to needs assessment by the WASH Sector Working Group in Lebanon through the development of a standardized framework for needs assessment was carried out on Wednesday, March 6th, 2013 with participation from 19 representatives from NGOs and 9 representatives from UN agencies. The agenda for the workshop is attached in Annex D. The expected outcomes of the workshop are:
1. Common understanding of rapid and comprehensive needs assessments;
2. Common indicators and core data sets for needs assessments;
3. Common sampling and data collection methods for needs assessments;
4. Common reporting for data analysis and presentation of findings of common indicators and core data sets for needs assessments;
5. Define roadmap for knowledge management (KM) and standard operational procedure (SOP) for needs assessments in relation to response plans.
2.1.2 Capacity Assessment
As part of the capacity assessment requested by the WASH partners to be carried out, the assessment team developed a Capacity Assessment Tool designed to collect information covering aspects, such as, profile, WASH response, WASH activities, transport and warehouse, emergency stock, contingency planning and scaling up for the agencies in the WASH Sector Working Group. The tool was shared with WASH partners on Monday, February 25th, 2013, with feedback required originally by Friday, March 8th, 2013, with an extension up to Friday, March 15th, 2013. The Capacity Assessment Tool is attached in Annex E.
3 Mission Implementation
3.1 Limitations to Data Collection and Analysis
Following are the key limitations to data collection and analysis for the deployment:
· Currently figures regarding non-registered refugees (estimated at an additional 25% of registered refugees), Palestinian displaced from Syria (PSD), Lebanese returnees, and migrant workers who are unable to return to Syria affected by the conflict remain unknown. This has contributed to complications in the assessment and response in the country;