One minute of physiotherapy for a child with disabilities in Lebanon

When the Syrian civil war began in 2011, around 1.5 million Syrians fled to neighboring Lebanon (UNHCR, 2021). Lebanon has thus taken in the most Syrian refugees in relation to its total population. Since 2019, the country has been suffering from an economic crisis and increasing national debt. The Lebanese currency is losing more and more value while the cost of living is rising. The country is barely able to care for the large number of refugees. Lebanese residency policy makes it difficult for people from Syria to obtain legal status, so 78 percent of them live in the country without official permission. This in turn limits their access to work, education and health care (Human Rights Watch, 2021). They are therefore not entitled to regular medical treatment. According to the UN Refugee Agency (2021), 89 percent of Syrian refugees live below the poverty line. Very few of them have the financial means to afford medical treatment. Children with disabilities who have special needs and require special medical and therapeutic treatment usually do not receive it. But these girls and boys in particular gain a better quality of life and independence through therapeutic measures, which in turn relieves the burden on families in their precarious situation.