Office of the United Nations Special Coordinator for Lebanon

Our UN teams are on the ground in 162 countries and territories, coordinating joint programmes and tackling a range of priorities and initiatives — from climate action and food security to gender equality and safety of civilians.

After a massive earthquake hit southern Türkiye and northern Syria in the early hours of Monday, prompting fears of a humanitarian crisis, UN aid agencies have scrambled to help many thousands of reported victims, including those still believed to be buried under the rubble.

United Nations Resident Coordinators from across all regions came together in a series of interactive sessions with the Secretary-General, the Deputy Secretary-General, UN Sustainable Development Group Principals and Member State representatives to take stock on progress and challenges four years into sweeping UN development system reforms. 

“Li Beirut” is an international flagship initiative launched from Beirut by the Director-General of UNESCO, Audrey Azoulay, in the aftermath of the Beirut explosions, to support the rehabilitation of schools, historic heritage buildings, museums, galleries and the creative industry.

Last year, UN teams on the ground reached thousands of people and supported governments on a myriad of objectives. They boosted countries' COVID-19

On the occasion of the first anniversary of the Beirut blast, UN Country Team in Lebanon with diplomatic corps observe a minute of silence to honor the victims.

“2020 was an exceptionally challenging year for Lebanon, and the people are still feeling the shocks of it,” says Najat Rochdi, UN Deputy Special Coordinator, Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator for Lebanon. 

In December 2020, we marked a big milestone: 100 UN country teams (or UNCTs) now have websites that are all connected under one web hosting environment. Under this one umbrella, 100 country teams can now share news with partners.

When the disaster struck the heart of Beirut, Lebanon was already reeling from civil unrest, economic and financial hardship, increasing poverty and unemployment compounded by political tensions and a soaring number of COVID-19 cases. This has been further exacerbated by the heavy burden of Syrian and Palestinian refugees.   

As the pandemic penetrates more areas, what does serious work to contain it look like? That question is uppermost in the minds of public health and