Lebanon is a country in crisis. During 2020/21, the worst economic situation in the countrys history, the devastating Beirut blast and the COVID-19 pandemic have led to a rapid and frightening escalation in unemployment, poverty, food insecurity, malnutrition and mental health disorders. Reports of sexual/gender-based violence and child safeguarding violations are on the increase. For the one million Syrian refugees in Lebanon, most of whom live in tents or unfinished buildings with no basic amenities, life is even worse. More than 70% of these refugees are women and children.

My name is Dr Andy Ferguson, and I am the Co-Chair of IDEALS. For more than 20 years, IDEALS has provided humanitarian aid in parts of the world affected by conflict and natural disasters. Our work goes far beyond crisis response: our expertise in healthcare provision and partnerships with local organisations forges that crucial link between emergency relief and sustainable long-term development.

Since 2017, IDEALS has been working with our local partner, Blue Mission, to deliver healthcare and other humanitarian services for over 15,000 Syrian refugees in the south of Lebanon, with a particular focus on the most vulnerable: women, children and adolescents. Now, in 2021, Phase Three of our work aims to deliver a package of vital services free of charge - to those same 15,000 people: essential primary healthcare services, regular health and hygiene awareness-raising sessions (with an initial focus on COVID-19 prevention and response), a midwife and gynaecologist-led sexual and reproductive health service, and mental health and psycho-social service interventions.

This work costs £7,500 a month. We desperately want to continue these life-saving services, particularly as other agencies are now withdrawing their support and you can help. IDEALS is led by volunteers and has no office, which means that all money raised goes directly to support our work on the ground. Your contribution will have a life-changing impact for some of the most marginalised and largely forgotten people in the world. Please give what you can.

Thank you so much