The ILO used its Employment Intensive Infrastructure Programme to support the community in Beirut to mitigate the impact of the conflict, in accordance with its mandate to advance social protection and ensure decent work opportunities and economic sustainability in the longer term.

In Lebanon, EIIP was introduced as a rapid response mechanism to address the immediate aftermath of the Beirut blast in 2020. While EIIP was not initially included in the PROSPECTS work plan in the country, the team was able to repurpose funds and support an existing ILO EIIP programme in Lebanon to operationalize rubble removal and street-clearing in the days following the blast. Workers were largely refugee and host community youth, who channelled their energy into helping the community recover from the unforeseen crisis. It was particularly advantageous to be able to use the footprint of the other ILO programme, including staff who were already in place with the necessary technical expertise to carry out the EIIP work at community level. In implementation, Syrian refugee youth were particularly eager to contribute as a sign of solidarity with their host community. In this case, the repurposing of funds to support the EIIP response also demonstrated the agility of both the ILO and the donor (the Netherlands), who were both willing to expedite approval processes to serve a clear and immediate need.

In September 2024, Lebanon witnessed a sharp escalation in large-scale cross-border attacks, resulting in significant loss of life and severe damage to the economy. The recent violence has caused immense suffering and, in response, the ILO developed an emergency response plan to mitigate the impact of the conflict on the country’s residents, in accordance with its mandate to advance social protection and ensure decent work opportunities and economic sustainability in the longer term.

More about EIIP in Lebanon can be found here: https://www.eiiplebanon.com/ 

Find our more about ILO's contribution to the Lebanon Emergency Response here.