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Lebanon: disease risks on the rise as displacement surges
With displacement in Lebanon past the one million mark, UN humanitarians warned on Tuesday about the spread of infectious diseases in shelters and surging mental health needs.
UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) spokesperson Babar Baloch told reporters in Geneva that while more than one million have been internally displaced within Lebanon since 2 March, when hostilities resumed between Lebanon’s Hezbollah and Israel, nearly 200,000 Syrians have fled the country to Syria – already marked by massive internal displacement – along with nearly 32,000 Lebanese. Lebanon’s population stands at around 5.8 million.
Christian Lindmeier, spokesperson for the World Health Organization (WHO), said that displacement “is driving rising risks of infectious diseases, including measles, hepatitis A and acute diarrheal diseases, particularly in overcrowded shelter situations.”
He added that nearly 140,000 people are hosted in 674 collective shelters, placing “significant pressure on services,” particularly in Beirut and Mount Lebanon.
Women and girls account for 53 per cent of displaced people in shelters, and children, who make up around a third of all the displaced people, are “disproportionately affected,” Mr. Lindmeier said, with “tens of thousands already living in shelters under increasingly fragile conditions.”
The WHO spokesperson highlighted the impact on other vulnerable groups such as older people and people with disabilities, and warned of “growing protection and health risks”.
“Mental health needs are surging, with thousands seeking support as trauma, fear and uncertainty deepen across affected communities,” he stressed.
With Israeli airstrikes continuing across Lebanon, Mr. Lindmeier said that as of 6 April the country’s Ministry of Public Health reported at least 1,461 deaths, including 129 children, and more than 4,400 injuries since the start of the conflict.
“Deaths have been rising sharply, by over 50 per cent in just one week,” he added.
The WHO spokesperson highlighted the fact that as a result of the Israeli military’s evacuation orders, 51 primary healthcare centers and six hospitals are now closed.
Since 2 March, 92 attacks on healthcare were verified, he said, resulting in 53 deaths and 137 injuries.
Most recently, at least four people were killed and a further 39 injured in a strike on Sunday near Rafik Hariri University Hospital, Lebanon’s largest public health facility.
On Monday WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus called on all parties to uphold their responsibility under international humanitarian law and ensure health facilities, health workers and patients are proactively protected, insisting that “these acts cannot become the new norm.”
-ends-
STORY Lebanon humanitarian update – UNHCR, WHO
TRT: 2:34’’
SOURCE: UNTV CH
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH/NATS
ASPECT RATIO: 16:9
DATELINE: 7 APRIL 2026 GENEVA, SWITZERLAND
1. Exterior wide shot: Palais des Nations, Flag Alley.
2. Medium-wide reverse shot: Speakers at the podium of the press conference; speaker on screens; journalists in the Press room.
3. SOUNDBITE (English) – Babar Baloch, spokesperson, UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR): “The numbers for Lebanon that we have been updating you has, as we said, has crossed the 1,000,000 mark. So, these are IDPs who are displaced inside Lebanon.”
4. Medium reverse shot: Speakers at the podium of the press conference; speaker on screen.
5. SOUNDBITE (English) – Babar Baloch, spokesperson, UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR): “We also have had nearly 200,000 Syrians that have left Lebanon and arrived into Syria, and with those also nearly 32,000 Lebanese that have arrived also in Syria.”
6. Wide shot: Journalists in the Press room; speaker on screens.
7. SOUNDBITE (English) – Christian Lindmeier, spokesperson, World Health Organization (WHO): “Displacement is driving rising risks of infectious diseases, including measles, hepatitis A and acute diarrheal diseases, particularly in overcrowded shelter situations. Children are disproportionately affected, making up around one third of the displaced people, with tens of thousands already living in shelters under increasingly fragile conditions.”
8. Medium reverse shot: Speaker at the podium of the press conference; speaker on screens; journalists in the Press room.
9. SOUNDBITE (English) – Christian Lindmeier, spokesperson, World Health Organization (WHO): “Women and girls make up 53 per cent of displaced people in shelters, which are also hosting tens of thousands of children, older people and people with disabilities, highlighting the growing protection and health risks as according to the Ministry of Public Health. Mental health needs are surging, with thousands seeking support as trauma, fear and uncertainty deepen across affected communities.”
10. Medium-wide reverse shot: Speaker at the podium of the press conference; speaker on screens; journalists in the Press room.
11. SOUNDBITE (English) – Christian Lindmeier, spokesperson, World Health Organization (WHO): “The Ministry of Health is reporting at least 1,461 deaths, including 129 children, with more than 4,400 injuries, deaths have been rising sharply by over 50 per cent in just one week. Since 2 March, 92 attacks on healthcare were verified, resulting in 53 deaths and 137 injuries. As a result of the IDF evacuation orders, 51 primary healthcare centers and six hospitals are now closed.”
12. Various shots of journalists in the Press room.
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