The United Nations Office at Geneva
Multimedia Newsroom
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.
Similar Stories
1
1
1
Edited News | WHO
In suspected Russia plague death, testing and monitoring underway – WHO
The death of a lab worker in Russia’s Siberia region has sparked concerns about plague being the cause, the UN World Health Organization (WHO) said on Tuesday, adding that it was following the situation closely.
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG
UN Human Rights Chief Volker Türk on Friday provided and oral update to the 63rd session of the Human rights Council on Ukraine.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG
UN Human Rights Chief Volker Türk on Friday provided and oral update to the 63rd session of the Human rights Council on the human rights situation in Haiti.
1
1
1
Edited News | WHO
Repeated delays in bringing lifesaving medicines, prosthetics and more from Israel into Gaza risk having devastating consequences on Palestinians who urgently need them in the wartorn enclave, the UN World Health Organization (WHO) said on Friday. “A truck full of non-priority supplies or the right supplies arriving too late, doesn't save lives. That's the question that actually matters," said Dr Reinhilde Van De Weerdt, WHO Representative in the OPT.
1
1
1
Edited News | WHO
DRC: Early access to care and oxygen decisive for Ebola patients’ survival – WHO
In the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), health workers fighting the country’s largest-ever Ebola outbreak are struggling to overcome critical challenges to patient care, the UN World Health Organization (WHO) warned on Tuesday.
1
1
1
Edited News | OCHA , UN
Civilians in Iran are continuing to feel the consequences of months of conflict and military escalation, the UN’s top official in the country has said, as loss of life, damage to civilian infrastructure and mounting economic pressures leave many facing continued uncertainty.
1
1
1
Edited News | WHO , UNICEF
Aid agencies in Yemen highlighted the growing hunger emergency sparked by renewed fighting between Houthi opposition forces and Government troops, after mobile health clinics reported that hundreds of children displaced by the violence are suffering from the most deadly form of malnutrition.
1
1
1
Edited News | UNHCR
Displacement on the rise in Yemen as fighting continues - UNHCR
As hostilities worsen in Yemen, more people have been fleeing their homes, further intensifying the humanitarian crisis within the region, the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) warned on Tuesday.
1
1
1
Edited News | IOM , OHCHR , UNFPA , UNOG , UNHCR , WHO
Yemen’s humanitarian crisis growing by the hour amid spike in displacement
Yemenis displaced by renewed fighting have described fleeing for their lives amid shelling and gunfire, aid agencies reported on Friday, while highlighting the dramatic increase in humanitarian needs in the country and in Djibouti, where thousands have sought shelter.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG
The UN Human Rights Office issued on Friday a report documenting a shocking pattern of sexual violence amid Russia’s full-scale armed attack on Ukraine.
2
1
2
Edited News , Press Conferences | WMO
As world’s water reserves change, countries must prepare for a new reality: WMO
New data showing that rivers were at their lowest level for decades last year provides further evidence that the climate crisis is real and countries must act immediately to protect themselves from the increasing threat to communities and livelihoods, the UN World Meteorological Organization (WMO) said on Thursday.
The key findings from WMO’s State of Global Water Resources 2025 report covering the hydrological cycle and extreme events in the five-year period to last year:
- 2025 was one of driest years for river discharge in 35 years
- Past seven years have seen abnorfmal river flows
- Water storage on Earth’s land surface has decreased in past decade
- Widespread glacier loss across all regions for fourth consecutive year
- Asia and Africa are regions most affected by water-related disasters
- Water data availability has improved, but gaps remain in hard-hit areas
Highlighting the long-term decline in the Earth’s freshwater storage and glacier melt, WMO Secretary-General Celeste Saulo explained that the planet’s water reserves used to act as a planetary “savings account” that absorbed the occasional dry season, avoiding a water crisis. “One of the central stories of the 2025 report is what is happening to that savings account? And the simple answer is that we are depleting it,” she told journalists in Geneva.
Groundwater reserves are equally stretched and have been in decline since 2014, WMO’s report states, with nearly two-thirds of monitored wells worldwide showing levels lower than the historical norm and indicating a shift “further toward deficit…not recovery”.
“At the same time, we are seeing more water-related disasters,” Ms. Saulo said, while also stressing that the currently strengthening El Niño “will increase the risk of drought in some areas, and flooding in others”.
Glaciers disappearing
In 2025, for the fourth consecutive year, every major glaciated region on Earth lost ice mass, leading to short-term hazards including floods and long-term water insecurity, according to WMO.
Responding to a question about whether the changing global water cycle might have contributed to the deadly Nepal-China flooding disaster, Ms. Saulo explained that melting ice and rock was just one factor in the chain of events that ultimately sent a massive and deadly wall of water and debris downstream on 26 August, killing at least 1,367 people.
“You asked if it could happen again? Absolutely; the problem in this region is that there’s 63,700 glaciers at the last count,” she told a Press Conference in Geneva. “Even if you’re looking with remote sensing with satellites at these glaciers, you might see some faults, you might see some slight shifting, that does not mean necessarily catastrophic collapse. So, in order to plan for this, it’s very, very difficult. But the international community is looking very hard at ways in which we can bring people together to solve some of these monitoring issues.”
Data indicates that glaciers shrank between 2023 and 2025 with cumulative losses of 1,400 gigatonnes of water – or about one third of annual fresh water needs.
Every major glacier region on Earth lost ice for the fourth consecutive year.
“All 19 glacier regions around the globe lost ice; in Central Asia, Iceland, the Russian Arctic and western Canada and the United States, it was among the three worst years on record,” said Wayne Jenkinson, WMO’s Director of Hydrology and Cryosphere.
Some regions with smaller glaciers such as Central Europe, the Caucasus, the western Canada and the United States may already have reached “peak water”, Mr. Jenkinson warned.
“After this point, the glacier gives less meltwater each year simply because there is less ice left to melt. That matters for every community downstream that relies on water during hot, dry summers,” he explained.
Narelle van der Wel, WMO’s Head of Cryosphere Monitoring, Predictions and Services, stressed that while some further glacier loss is unavoidable, the eventual scale of the decline is not predetermined.
“Some glacier loss is inevitable, but total loss of glaciers is not yet inevitable,” she said, pointing to emissions reductions as central to limiting future losses.
Preparing for moving baselines
The report does not attribute every observed change to climate change alone. WMO says pressure on water resources and natural variability also contribute.
Mr. Jenkinson said governments need to prepare for “moving baselines” as historical patterns become less reliable.
“The situation 30 years ago is not where we are today,” he said. Countries, he added, need to prepare “for those changes that have really already arrived”.
ends
1
1
1
Edited News | OCHA , WHO
The deadly Ebola virus outbreak in DR Congo continues to spread across the vast country despite some success in containing it, aid officials said on Tuesday, in a renewed call for international support to help responders on the ground.