Vulnerability Assessment in Lebanon

OXFAM GB AND PARTNERS

Objective of the Assessment

Better understanding of vulnerability frameworks and approaches

Who are the vulnerable groups? (characteristics)

Why they are vulnerable? (lack of access to capitals)

What are they vulnerable to? (economic, political, natural shocks)

What factors that reduce or enforce their vulnerability? (institutions, processes, and political affiliations)

Key questions addressed in the assessment

This assessment builds upon existing initiatives on poverty targeting

Synthesis of key poverty mapping studiesMinistry of social affairs (MOSA), Central Administration for Statistics (CAS),UNDP and GoL Economic social fund For development (ESFD)

Methodology Development Process

Setting up the framework of analysis: Sustainable Livelihood Framework (SLF)- which specifies that a sustainable livelihood is built upon five types of assets or ‘capitals’)

Building a proposition: “Vulnerability is a preceding state to poverty”(while not all vulnerable groups are necessarily vulnerable, all poor are necessarily vulnerable)

The Sustainable livelihood framework offers an analytical approach

Human Capital (people themselves: health, nutrition, education, skills, knowledge, capacity to work)

Social Capital NaturalCapital

Physical Capital Financial Capital

Poor/VulnerableNetworks: kinship, neighborhood, patronage, formal & informal groups

Water, land, air, sunshine, woodlands, soil

Infrastructure (roads, shelter, water supply, energy, seeds)

Savings, remittances, credit/debit, pensions, wages)

•Policies of government, NGOs, and INGOs

•Processes involved in decision-making, social norms, customs, gender, caste, class, etc..

•Institutions which includes enabling agencies and service providers, executive agencies, political, legislative, CSOs, political parties, commercial enterprises, etc..

Factors increasing/decreasing vulnerability (responsible for transforming the 5 livelihood assets in the SLF - key in leading to desirable outcomes such as more income, increased well-being, etc…)

The process to measure vulnerability

Understanding and agreeing to use the SLF approach and vulnerability definition

Training partners and Oxfam team in focus group discussion method

Dividing of tasks between moderators and facilitators based on capacity and skills. 6 teams created

Assessment Methodology:Sample selection

1. Community stakeholders ( mukhtars, municipality officials, NGOs, government departments.

The local community:

2. Ordinary women members of the community

3. Ordinary men members of the community

18 focus groups conducted reaching 226 persons

Geographical selection based on poverty pockets

1. Areas of urban poverty – Tebbeneh, Old city of Sidon

2. Areas of rural poverty – Akroum, Chmestar

3. Palestinian refugees – Sabra

4. Areas affected by 2006 war - Bourgoliiyeh

Assessment Methodology:

Geographical Selection

Assessment Methodology:Limitations

Rare usage and conceptualisation of vulnerability in Lebanon

Limited timeframe for scope of study Confusion amongst targeted groups to distinguish

between vulnerability vs. poverty

Findings: Communities identified as vulnerable groups

Women in general (as well as widowed, divorced, or single women head of households, women subject to domestic violence)

Elderly (most vulnerable to economic shocks, illness, disease and security incidences. vulnerability caused by difficulty in personal mobility and access to transportation). Elderly consider children as ‘assets’ that provide financial security and a sense of well-being such as shelter, food, income, and medicine)

Working children (paid on daily basis, so prone to be fired or laid off by employer; vulnerable to illness since they do not enjoy any kind of social security and parents cannot afford to provide medication)

Farmers (vulnerable to seasonality of rain levels; absence of implementation of a national agricultural plan, lack of access to lands lately bcz of UXOs; at the mercy of input traders such as pesticides who charge prices 3 times the expected market)

Unemployed (seasonal or daily workers)

Disabled (vulnerable to national security factors bcz they’re unable to move to safer places)

Palestinian refugees (deprived of work, proper physical infrastructure, ineffective UNRWA services-i.e patient to pay ‘entry fee’ to enter hospital.

Individuals living in deficient housing (vulnerable to military actions, environmental factors (earthquakes)

Low-income employees (mainly in public section, Lebanese army, etc..) vulnerable to economic shocks.

Economic shocks

Political upheavals

Military actions

Environmental change

UNRWA’s Effectiveness (meeting basic needs)

To what factors are they vulnerable?

Limited access to and cost affordability of education

Limited access to and cost affordability of medical care

Absence of policy to insure all citizens, including the informal sector, to have access to health insurance and health services

Absence of GOL plan to eradicate poverty at grass roots level.

Absence of national development plan

Polices enforce vulnerability

Power Position of Mukhtars

Dependency relationship between residents and Mukhtar (or representative of major political force)

Violence against women as socially acceptable, thus increasing women’s vulnerability

Women’s lack of access to information prevents them from turning around their vulnerability context

Voices of vulnerability not heard because of filtration process that goes through Mukhtar

Processes enforce vulnerability

Public health, education services as inadequate

Local government services absent as a result of weak financial / institutional capacity and reliance on

state transactions

Civil society organizations as suffering from institutional weaknesses due to the lack of financial resources, and training

Politicisation of local government, Mukhtar, and civil society organizations

Institutions enforce vulnerability

Macro-level: policies

• What Changes do we want to see?

• Equitable economic development plan

• Pro-vulnerable national policies

• Inclusiveness of vulnerable groups in national surveys and planning

• Vulnerable groups access to job market

• Palestinians’ ability to work and sustain income

• Reduction in vulnerability and suffering

How can we make change happen?• Targeting poverty directly at poverty pockets• Advocacy for refocusing on “agriculture” as the main job-creator in rural

areas.• Reconsidering wage policy.• Amending laws that impose annual fees in public schools.• Promote an inclusive National Social Security Fund (that would help mostly

those who have left/lost the job market)• Advocate UNRWA to provide for full coverage of medical care for Palestinian

refugees. • Ensure gender-disaggregated data in all national surveys and plans, while

integrating violence against women in national surveys. • Advocate for protection of child labour, and support ongoing campaigns

towards this end.• Advocate for Palestinian rights to (permanent) shelter in unofficial gatherings • equal employment opportunity legislation that would allow vulnerable groups’

“right” of access to job market • Palestinian economic rights, at least starting with certain jobs that could

meet market demand for professional jobs though not compromising priority for Lebanese citizens in the private sector.

• Higher Relief Council and the Prime Minister’s Officer to establish a national contingency plan, and to resource it.

Macro-level: policies

Who can make this change happen?• Various stakeholders ( government, NGOs, multilateral and

so forth)

Meso Level: institutions

What Changes do we want to see?

• Establish local governance accountability towards sustainable livelihood for vulnerable groups.

• Mainstream gender in local planning

• Increase access of vulnerable groups to micro-credit and finance schemes

• Increase farmers’ access to local, regional and international markets

How can we make change happen?

• Promote partnership between local government, CSOs and private sector in development planning.

• Promote civil society engagement in budget allocation and monitoring

• Build the capacity of CSOs • Strengthening women leadership skills at various

levels (government, NGOs).• Formation of women’s network to advocate for women

issues including budget allocation and ending violence against women.

• Hold debate on benefits of micro credit in reducing vulnerability and develop alternative pro-vulnerability micro credit policy at local level.

• Strengthen farmers’ productivity and their access to market .

• Strengthen farmer’s cooperatives, including women’s coop.

Meso Level: institutions

Who can make this change happen?

• Local and international development actors, local government institutions, private sector institutions, local CSOs and NGOs

Micro-level: communities

What Changes do we want to see?

Mainly to:• Reduce the number of women exposed to violence.• Increase access of vulnerable groups to micro-credit and

finance schemes• Local government accountability

Micro-level: communities

How can we make change happen?

• Awareness-raising at community level.• Free legal representation for women.• Alternative support application (i.e. income generating

activities)• Establish dialogue among youth and various groups to

harmonize even a minimal agenda to be shared with local governments.

• Promote understanding of diversity (women’s rights, disabled rights etc).

• Community mobilization around specific issues.

Micro-level: communities

Who can make this change happen?

• NGOs working in promoting participatory approaches and rights based approaches, local governments, multilateral organizations working to strengthen local government capacity, women's organizations.