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The crisis in Lebanon has escalated sharply since late February 2026, driven by wider regional tensions and conflict. Across the country, civilians are bearing the heaviest impact. More than 2,000 people have been killed, including women and children, and over 1 million people have been forced from their homes as evacuation orders have expanded across South Lebanon, Beirut, Mount Lebanon, and the Bekaa Valley.

Lebanon conflict: Facts, FAQs, and how to help

• Fast facts: Lebanon crisis
• What is happening in Lebanon right now?
• Who is affected by the crisis in Lebanon?
• Which areas of Lebanon are impacted?
• How many people have been killed in Lebanon?
• How are children being affected by the crisis in Lebanon?
• How is World Vision responding to the crisis in Lebanon?
• How can I help people affected by the conflict?

Fast facts: Lebanon crisis

• More than 1 million people displaced within Lebanon, including 390,000 children, according to UNICEF reports.
• Approximately 2,000 people killed, including over 250 women and 166 children.
• Families living in overcrowded shelters.
• More than 4 million people need humanitarian assistance.
• Over 80% of Lebanon’s population lives in multidimensional poverty, struggling to access basic needs.
• In some areas of Lebanon, half of the children under 2 are experiencing severe food poverty.
• Over 300 schools have been damaged due to the conflict.
• Humanitarian access remains constrained, limiting aid delivery.
• World Vision has three child sponsorship area programs impacted by the conflict.
• World Vision’s staff in Lebanon is responding by delivering food, hygiene kits, blankets, and other essential support to families staying in collective shelters.

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What is happening in Lebanon right now?

Violence has expanded into new areas, increasing risks for civilians and disrupting daily life. A summary of the situation:

• Damage to infrastructure and ongoing insecurity are limiting access to essential services like healthcare, food, and clean water.
• Road damage and insecurity are increasingly isolating communities.
• Humanitarian access remains constrained, making it difficult to reach the most vulnerable populations.
• Families are crowded into shelters or seeking safety wherever they can find it.
• World Vision staff in Lebanon is working with local partners to deliver lifesaving aid, including food, shelter, and protection support for children and families displaced by the violence.

 

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Who is affected by the crisis in Lebanon?

Since March 2, UNICEF reports there are 1.049 million new internally displaced people (IDPs) as hostilities have escalated. At least 300,000 of the internally displaced are children. More than 140,000 people, including nearly 44,000 children, are in 680 collective shelters, such as schools, hotels, or community centers.

“There aren’t enough shelters to house all of the displaced,” says Heidi Diedrich, World Vision’s national director in Lebanon. “ …The shelters are almost full. … The pace of displacement is far more dramatic than the response can address.”

At least 6,500 people have been injured, and approximately 2,000 people have died, including women and children.

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Which areas of Lebanon are impacted?

Evacuation orders have expanded in the South, Beirut, and the Bekaa Valley.

Strikes have increasingly targeted urban and previously less-impacted areas, including central Beirut, along with other neighborhoods such as Haret Saida, Tyre, Aramoun, and Ramlet El Bayda.
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How many people have been killed in Lebanon?

Since March 2, more than 2,000 people have died, including 166 children, and more than 6,500 people have been injured.

UNICEF estimates that an average of 10 children are killed each day during the escalation.

Emergency responders have also been affected, including the deaths of 14 paramedics and one member of the Lebanese Red Cross, underscoring the risks faced by humanitarian personnel.

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How are children being affected by the crisis?

Children in Lebanon were already living with high levels of poverty and food insecurity. In some regions of Lebanon, more than half of children under 2 face severe food poverty, and nationally, nearly a third of children had only one meal or none the previous day, even before the escalation of violence.

The conflict is deepening these vulnerabilities for children, disrupting access to food, healthcare, education, and protection services.

World Vision operates three affected area programs in Lebanon, supporting thousands of children. Early assessments showed one-third of the registered children have been displaced, with many families living outside formal shelters.

Sponsorship activities in impacted areas have been realigned so staff can prioritize urgent humanitarian needs for children and families.

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How is World Vision responding to the crisis?

World Vision’s staff in Lebanon was among the first humanitarian responders, reaching around 6,000 people within hours of escalation.

Since then, we have reached nearly 151,000 people, including 53,000 children. Support includes:

• Hot meals, ready-to-eat food
• Hygiene kits, mattresses, and blankets
• Water and other essential relief items
• Psychological first aid for children, families, and caregivers
• Child protection services and psychosocial activities
• Alternative learning activities to help children cope with displacement and school closures.

 

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“Our teams have been working around the clock,” says Heidi Diedrich, World Vision’s national director in Lebanon. “With World Vision, as a child-focused organization, the first thing we do is focus on the wellbeing of the child and what we must do to ensure their protection.”

We are working alongside 16 local partner organizations and supporting community kitchens with fresh and dry ingredients.

 

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As humanitarian needs increase, we are scaling up lifesaving support while continuing longer‑term efforts that help communities recover and build stronger futures for children.

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How can I help people affected by the conflict?

We remain steadfast in our commitment to children across the Middle East and beyond and invite you to partner with us in our work.

Please join us in praying for:

• Access to food, clean water, and healthcare
• Safety and strength for humanitarian aid workers.
• Protection of children and displaced families
• Peace and stability across the region

You can also give a gift today to help World Vision’s global disaster response work in Lebanon and other areas impacted by disasters.

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Kristy J. O’Hara-Glaspie from World Vision U.S. contributed to this report.

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Today, nearly 1 in 10 children worldwide are engaged in labor that denies them their basic human rights and jeopardizes their well-being. Child labor has been on the rise in recent years, driven by conflicts, crises, and the negative impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, which have pushed countless families deeper into poverty, according to the United Nations. For these children, the struggle for survival has taken away their education, safety, and childhood. Despite global efforts, economic growth has not been enough to alleviate the hardships that force families to depend on child labor.

Child labor: Facts, FAQs, and how to help

• Fast facts: Child labor
• What is child labor?
• Why is child labor a problem, and where is it prevalent?
• What are the worst forms of child labor?
• What is the primary driver of child labor?
• Has child labor increased or decreased over time?
• What is World Vision doing to end child labor?
• How can I help end child labor?
• Child labor history

Fast facts: Child labor

• Child labor, by definition, is a violation of child protection and human rights.
• Approximately 160 million children have been forced into child labor since 2020. Of these children, 63 million were girls, and 97 million were boys. And nearly half of those young laborers — 79 million children — worked under hazardous conditions.
• 1 in 3 children in child labor are out of school.
• Approximately 70% (112 million) of child laborers work in agriculture like farming and livestock herding.
• Sub-Saharan Africa has the highest number of child laborers at 86.6 million children, followed by Central and Southern Asia with 26.3 million.
• June 12 marks the United Nations–sanctioned World Day Against Child Labour, a time to reflect on young workers deprived of their childhood, education, and a rightful future.

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What is child labor?

Child labor is the exploitation of children who are either too young to work or are engaged in work that compromises their physical, mental, social, or educational development. Children, especially vulnerable during their early developmental years, are at risk of injuries that may not become evident as physical and mental health problems until later stages of life.

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Why is child labor a problem, and where is it prevalent?

Child labor affects millions of children around the globe by depriving them of their childhood, education, and fundamental human rights. It poses risks of physical, emotional, and psychological harm to those involved.

Data from the U.N. Children’s Fund (UNICEF) shows that slightly more than 1 in 5 children in the world’s poorest countries engage in potentially harmful work, as of 2023. This issue is prevalent in areas of insecurity and armed conflict.

Sub-Saharan Africa has the highest number of child laborers, with nearly 24% of children aged 5 to 17 engaged in child labor. Factors contributing to child labor in low-income countries include family poverty and inadequate education. However, child labor isn’t limited to low-income countries. It persists to some extent in all countries: More than half of all child laborers live in middle-income countries.

David, the eldest of five children in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), became the sole provider at age 13 after his father left in 2022. Working in a quarry, David faced daily hardships. However, World Vision came alongside David and his family, as it has for other children like him. Through community awareness campaigns and targeted interventions, World Vision helped facilitate David’s return to school with support from RECOPE (a community child protection network) in Haut-Katanga province. World Vision continues to support the Congolese government’s efforts to safeguard children’s rights in the DRC.

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What are the worst forms of child labor?

The International Labour Organization (ILO) Convention No. 182 demands that hazardous and morally damaging labor practices for children be immediately and completely eliminated. The worst forms of child labor, as defined by this document, include:

• Slavery or similar practices
• Child trafficking
• Forced recruitment into armed conflict
• Prostitution and pornography
• Drug production and trafficking or other illegal acts
• Debt bondage
• Children working in mines
• Hazardous work that can cause injury or moral corruption

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What is the primary driver of child labor?

Poverty is the primary reason children are forced to work, perpetuating a crushing cycle that denies them education, a crucial tool to break free from poverty. According to the ILO, approximately 70% of child laborers toil in agriculture. Others work long hours in factories and domestic service or face even more exploitative forms of labor, such as child soldiers or being exploited in the commercial sex trade.

“The work I do at the workshop is very painful. I often get cuts and bruises on my hands and I have to lift very heavy machinery,” says Sajal*, a child laborer in Bangladesh. “I don’t want to work here but I will starve if I don’t work. The kids I used to go to school with now bully me sometimes. They tell me that I don’t belong with them anymore now that I have to work while they get to go to school.”

*Name changed to protect identity.

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Has child labor increased or decreased over time?

According to a joint UNICEF and ILO publication, child labor worldwide increased to 160 million in 2020, up by 8.4 million in several years. This marked the first halt in global progress to end child labor in over two decades. In sub-Saharan Africa, factors like population growth and extreme poverty added 16.6 million children to child labor in the last several years. UNICEF and the ILO emphasized that the global impacts of COVID-19 and extreme weather events could threaten millions of additional children.

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What is World Vision doing to end child labor?

At World Vision, we strive to eliminate child labor and help equip communities for long-term transformation. By placing children at the heart of our work, we empower them to understand their rights and strive toward their own well-being. Together with parents and communities, we support the building of protective environments, working toward a world where no child’s future is stolen by labor exploitation.

Our initiatives focus on:

• Enhancing teaching quality and improving learning spaces through educational services
• Supporting parents to improve their incomes and food security, eliminating the need for children to work
• Advocating for the enactment and enforcement of national child labor laws, including children working in mines
• Promoting social accountability for communities, governments, and businesses
• Equipping communities, including faith leaders, parents, and community groups, to monitor vulnerable children to prevent hazardous work
• Promoting decent work for youth who are above the minimum working age through training, life skills, and entrepreneurship, coupled with access to savings and credit services

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Discover more about World Vision’s Bright Futures project aimed at reducing child labor in Honduras.

How can I help end child labor?

• Pray: Join us in praying for all children who are trapped in labor.
• Give: Support programs that aim to protect kids from labor and other forms of exploitation, abuse, and violence.
• Sponsor a child: By investing in a child’s life, you’ll help equip them for brighter futures. Child sponsorship benefits entire communities through programs like education and resources that help children stay in school and create better job opportunities for them to pursue as adults.

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Child labor history

Throughout history, children have supported their families through farming and handicrafts. However, the Industrial Revolution of the 18th and 19th centuries brought about significant changes, leading to the exploitation of children in factories and farms under hazardous conditions. This prompted the creation of laws to regulate working conditions for kids and mandate education. Key milestones in child labor history:

1938: The U.S. Fair Labor Standards Act restricted the hours and types of jobs for individuals under age 16.

1973: The Minimum Age Convention, ratified by 172 countries, established the minimum age for employment with some exceptions.

1989: The U.N. Convention on the Rights of the Child was enacted to ensure the protection of children’s rights to develop and thrive.

1992: The International Programme on the Elimination of Child Labour (IPEC) was established to promote the global eradication of this practice and to support countries in their efforts.

1999: The Worst Forms of Child Labour Convention, ratified by 186 countries, mandated the elimination of practices such as slavery, human trafficking, debt bondage, forced labor in armed conflict, prostitution, pornography, drug trafficking, and other illegal activities.

2021: The U.N. General Assembly declared 2021 as the Year for the Elimination of Child Labor.

2025: Target 8.7 of the U.N.’s Sustainable Development Goals seeks to end all forms of child labor by 2025.

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Sevil Omer of World Vision’s U.S. staff contributed to this article.

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In September 2017, a series of deadly earthquakes struck Mexico just 12 days apart, causing widespread devastation. One powerful quake hit central Mexico on September 19, becoming the deadliest in the country since 1985. The disaster occurred on the 32nd anniversary of the 1985 Mexico City earthquake that killed thousands of people. Just hours before the tremor, earthquake drills had taken place across the country.

2017 Mexico earthquakes: Facts, FAQs, and how to help

Here’s what you need to know about the earthquakes that occurred in Mexico.

• Fast facts: 2017 Mexico earthquakes?
• How big were the Mexico earthquakes?
• How much damage did the earthquakes in Mexico cause?
• How did World Vision respond to the Mexico earthquakes?
• How can I help survivors of disasters like the Mexico earthquakes?

Fast facts: 2017 Mexico earthquakes

• At least 225 people died after a magnitude 7.1 earthquake struck central Mexico.
• This earthquake comes on the heels of another magnitude 8.1 quake Sept. 7, 2017, that left more than 90 people dead and was the strongest earthquake to hit Mexico in a century. It struck off the country’s southwest coast, leveling buildings and causing mass evacuations.
• Then-Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto declared three days of national mourning beginning Sept. 20, 2017.

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How big were the Mexico earthquakes?

On September 7, 2017, a tremor measuring magnitude 8.1 shook Mexico, according to the USGS. About 50 million people across the country felt the seismic event. Local officials said they counted nearly 800 aftershocks, and USGS officials reported nearly 60 aftershocks with a magnitude of 4.5 or greater.

Days later, on September 19, 2017, an earthquake measuring 7.1 jolted central Mexico, according to the USGS.

“I heard this rumble in the walls, so I rushed downstairs,” said Victor Martinez, a World Vision emergency communications manager who had been based in Mexico City on September 19, 2017. “This quake was shorter than Friday’s (Sept. 7), but it felt much stronger. It felt as if the floor was jumping, like a vertical motion. People were really nervous. Then I drove to my nephew’s school to make sure they were okay and saw large amounts of people exiting buildings to pick up their children that were in school. I saw several cracks in the streets on my way to the school. As I listened to the local news, we were hearing about collapsed buildings.”

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How much damage did the 2017 earthquakes in Mexico cause?

The 2017 earthquakes in Mexico devastated areas of the country.

• The September 19, 2017, earthquake, the most destructive, leveled scores of buildings and claimed hundreds of lives, including children from the Enrique Rebsamen School.
• An earlier temblor and its aftershocks on September 7, 2017, damaged or destroyed thousands of houses and hundreds of schools. More than 90 people were killed.

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How did World Vision respond to the Mexico earthquakes?

World Vision staff had deployed where possible to assist with debris removal and coordinated with other response agencies to provide aid to impacted communities, said Silvia Novoa, World Vision’s then-national director in Mexico.

While World Vision did not have programming in communities affected by the September 19, 2017, quake, we did assist 12 shelters in Mexico City with the delivery of food and medicine to children and families. We also distributed approximately 3 tons of food, 500 tools, and two electric generators to support rescue efforts. In addition, World Vision established Child-Friendly Spaces to support children impacted by the disaster and worked with a team of volunteers, including doctors and psychologists, who offered medical care and emotional support to children affected by the earthquake.

“Our biggest concern is for children,” said Guillermo Lozano Leo, World Vision’s emergency response director at the time in Mexico. “Not only can they be terrified by such large quakes, but many families live in very poor-quality homes that are prone to collapse. We are closely monitoring the situation to find out how impacted areas nearest the coast are.”

One of the worst-hit areas was Juchitan in Oaxaca state, he said. World Vision had worked with churches and local government officials in the area and responded there as well.

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How can I help survivors of disasters like the Mexico earthquakes?

You can help World Vision continue responding to disasters around the world, like the 2017 Mexico earthquakes.

• Pray: Join us in praying for children and families affected by devastating earthquakes and for World Vision staff and responders involved in relief efforts when these disasters occur.
• Give: Your gift to the Disaster Relief Fund can deliver hope and practical help to children and families when disasters like the Mexico earthquakes strike.

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