IOM is launching a programme to provide psychosocial support and
rehabilitation assistance to conflict-affected families and
children who remain internally displaced or have returned to
damaged infrastructures in the Southern region and Bekaa
valley.  

 

The programme, which is funded by the Belgian government, will
provide counselling, socializing and recreational services to some
10,000 vulnerable individuals in the areas of Tyre, Marjeyoun,
Nabatiye, Bint Jbeil and Baalbeck. 

Local healthcare professionals, community leaders and members of
the civil society will also receive training on how best to provide
psychosocial support to war-affected communities.

The programme will provide pre-fabricated housing to the most
vulnerable, supply local health infrastructures with essential
equipment and medicines, rehabilitate water and sanitation systems
and provide income-generation opportunities to local affected
people and businesses.

Since the cessation of hostilities in August, an estimated
500,000 internally displaced people have returned to their areas of
residence in the war-shattered areas, and an additional 150,000
individuals are reported to have returned from outside the
country.

The conflict has led to the total or partial destruction of
around 30,000 housing units. There is a continued displacement of
around 250,000 people, most of them living with relatives and other
families hosting them.

The project, which will be implemented throughout 2007 in close
coordination with the Lebanese authorities and other relief
partners, supports the Government’s Strategy for Early
Recovery.

Assessments carried out by IOM in the regions of Nabatyeh and
Baalbeck confirm that families who have been displaced or who fled
abroad during the conflict suffer from post traumatic stress, which
is aggravated by current economic difficulties and precarious life
conditions.

For more information, please contact:

Rana Jaber

IOM Beirut

Tel: +961 70 992 831

E-mail: "mailto:rjaber@iom.int" target="_blank" title=
"">rjaber@iom.int