Project Objective

• Enhance the institutional capacity of municipalities and Unions of Municipalities to manage multidimensional risks, implement conflict-sensitive and gender-responsive plans, and strengthen transparency, accountability, and public trust.

• Rehabilitate and upgrade critical infrastructure while promoting sustainable service delivery models that ensure equitable and affordable access to essential basic and social services.

• Generate decent employment and income opportunities for vulnerable populations — particularly women, youth, and persons with disabilities — through local value chain development, MSME support, and market-linked interventions.

• Institutionalize community-based dialogue and peacebuilding mechanisms to reduce tensions over scarce resources and reinforce collaboration between host and displaced communities.

Achievements & Key Figures

Between January 2024 and December 2025, following its transition into Phase 2, UNDP LHSP 2.0 consolidated over a decade of stabilization experience into an integrated, area-based, and conflict-sensitive programming model. By linking livelihoods, essential services, and local governance strengthening within coherent territorial strategies, the project delivered tangible and systemic results across Lebanon’s most vulnerable host communities and displaced populations.

• All interventions were identified and prioritized through the Mechanism for Stability and Local Development with participatory, conflict-sensitive mapping completed in 18 municipalities and 14 clusters, reinforcing local ownership, transparency, and coordinated territorial prioritization.
•  2,951,314 individuals, including 1,462,579 women, benefited from integrated livelihoods and essential service interventions, contributing to service continuity and economic stabilization during a period of severe national fiscal contraction.
• 2,553,165 individuals accessed improved services in health, education, water, renewable energy, solid waste management, and flood risk management, helping reduce service disruptions and tensions over scarce local resources.
• 69 integrated interventions implemented, combining municipal infrastructure rehabilitation, renewable energy and water management, and economic support to farmers, cooperatives, MSMEs, and entrepreneurs, strengthening both service delivery systems and local productive capacities. 18 additional projects remain ongoing, projected to reach 724,521 beneficiaries (349,733 women) by end of 2026.
• 3,993 jobs maintained through local economic development support, preserving livelihoods and sustaining local market activity. 4,150 short-term employment opportunities created (70% Lebanese, 28% Syrian, 2% other nationalities), including 1,489 women and 123 persons with disabilities, generating 159,881 worker-days and injecting income into vulnerable communities.
• Between October 2023 and December 2025, 20 regional Civil Defense centers nationwide were equipped with firefighting, search and rescue, and emergency medical equipment, enhancing frontline emergency preparedness and response efficiency.
• Capacity-building delivered to 5 municipalities and 7 clusters/Unions of Municipalities strengthened implementation of Lebanon’s Public Procurement Law, reinforcing accountable financial management and transparent investment practices at the local level.
   

GESI Component (Gender Equality and Social Inclusion)

The LHSP 2.0 is highly committed to Gender Equality and Social Inclusion (GEN2 & GEN3). It moves beyond simple participation to mainstreaming gender into regular municipal management and budgeting. Key GESI strategies include:
 

• Linking women to productive labor markets and supporting women-led enterprises.
• Integrating Gender-Based Violence (GBV) prevention across all sectors, including construction and agriculture.
• Ensuring that local development plans specifically address the safety and accessibility needs of women, youthand PwDs.
• Empowering women to lead community-based peacebuilding and social stability initiatives.