H.A., a 62‑year‑old displaced woman living in a collective shelter in Saida.We left our home without knowing if or when we will return. This uncertainty is overwhelming and makes daily life unbearable. We try to hold on to hope and take life one day at a time.
Supporting older people through local partnerships
With violence escalating across Lebanon, HelpAge International, alongside its local network member Amel Association International and with support from Age International, is responding to the urgent needs of older people caught in a fast‑moving humanitarian emergency. Together, we are delivering age‑inclusive assistance to older people who have been displaced or cut off from essential services.
Amel Association is responding in overcrowded collective shelters and host communities, providing hygiene and personal care items, basic medical support, and psychosocial assistance, with particular attention to older people and people with disabilities. This response builds on long‑standing partnerships and local expertise, ensuring support reaches those most at risk as the situation deteriorates.
Following recent distributions, 602 hygiene kits were provided in several shelters across Saida and Beirut, including schools and colleges now hosting displaced families. Designed to support a family of five for one month, each kit includes essential hygiene and household items – such as soap, cleaning supplies, toothbrushes and toothpaste, menstrual hygiene products, and information materials – helping families maintain health, dignity and basic living standards during displacement.
This response is unfolding against the backdrop of a rapidly deteriorating situation across the country.
Since early March 2026, Lebanon has seen a sharp escalation in violence linked to the wider regional conflict, triggering large‑scale displacement across the country. Intensified airstrikes and evacuation orders have forced families to flee southern Lebanon, Beirut’s southern suburbs and other affected areas, often with little warning.
Within weeks, more than one million people have been displaced, putting immense strain on already fragile public services and infrastructure. Many families are now sheltering in overcrowded collective centres or relying on host communities that are themselves under severe economic pressure.
This crisis is unfolding on top of Lebanon’s prolonged economic collapse, which has weakened healthcare, electricity and social protection systems. Access to fuel, medical supplies and essential goods has become increasingly limited, deepening humanitarian needs across displaced communities, refugees and vulnerable host populations.
Distributions at a shelter in Beirut
Why older people are particularly affected
Older people are severely affected by this crisis, yet their needs are often overlooked in emergency responses. They make up around 11% of Lebanon’s population (the highest proportion in the Arab region) but are frequently excluded from assistance and recovery efforts.
Many older people live with non‑communicable diseases such as hypertension, diabetes or cardiovascular conditions that require continuous care. As health services deteriorate and costs rise, managing these conditions has become increasingly difficult and unaffordable. Displacement further compounds these risks, especially for those with limited mobility or who rely on regular medication and support.
In overcrowded shelters that are not adapted to their needs, older people face heightened risks to their health, dignity and wellbeing. Barriers such as long queues, inaccessible distribution points and lack of targeted services can prevent them from accessing aid altogether.
“We try to take life one day at a time”
Older people displaced by the violence have shared powerful reflections on their experiences in shelters.
