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Prioritizing Women’s and Girls’ Needs in Wake of Beirut Explosion

Authored by: United Nations Population Fund

Categories: Human Rights, Humanitarian Emergencies
Sub-Categories: Climate and Environment, COVID-19, Human Development, Mass Atrocities, Sexual and Gender-Based Violence (SGBV), Sexual and Reproductive Health
Country: Lebanon
Region: Middle East and North Africa
Year: 2020
Citation: "Prioritizing Women’s and Girls’ Needs in Wake of Beirut Explosion." United Nations Population Fund. September 2020.

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Executive Summary

A month after the Beirut Port explosion, life remains uncertain for thousands of women and girls. Among the displaced are an estimated 84,000 women and girls of reproductive age.

UNFPA is working with 12 partners on the ground to distribute dignity kits, which contain sanitary pads, soap, toothbrushes, toothpaste and towels. These items are helping women and girls maintain their personal hygiene even amid the destruction and displacement. This is essential, community members have emphasized.

The blast and its aftermath come atop the COVID-19 pandemic and an economic crisis. Job losses have curtailed family spending, even as disease prevention is becoming more urgent than ever.

Gender-based violence is known to increase in humanitarian settings and in times of economic stress. Amid the pandemic, many countries are reporting increased violence against women and rising demands for support services.