Lebanon

1. Funding Gaps and Activity Suspension
The most critical challenge affecting sector performance in 2025 was the severe reduction in nutrition funding, which significantly constrained partners’ ability to implement the agreed sector strategy. By the end of 2025, a reduction in the number of operational nutrition actors nationwide is expected, sharply limiting coverage and geographic reach. Funding shortfalls led to the suspension or scale-down of several interventions, including life-saving services and the provision of preventive nutrition supplies. In December alone, five Primary Health Care Centres (PHCs) providing wasting treatment were left unsupported, directly affecting access to treatment for wasted children and women.

2. Reduced Human Resources and Service Quality Risks
Linked to funding constraints, many partners were forced to reduce staffing levels, including nutrition focal points and technical staff. These reductions affected the quality, intensity, and supervision of services, with implications for adherence to protocols, monitoring, and reporting. Smaller teams also limited partners’ capacity to engage consistently in coordination mechanisms, weakening collective planning and information sharing at both national and sub-national levels.

3. Limited Operational Presence in Hard-to-Reach Areas
Partners faced persistent challenges in operating in hard-to-reach and high-risk locations, particularly in southern areas. Limited partner presence, access constraints, and higher operational costs reduced the sector’s ability to deliver services where vulnerabilities were often compounded by displacement, insecurity, and weak basic services. As a result, geographic disparities widened, with some high-need communities receiving minimal or no nutrition support despite elevated risks.

4. Insufficient Multi-Sectoral Integration
Despite recognized interlinkages, integration with WASH and social protection schemes remained limited. This constrained the effectiveness of nutrition interventions, particularly in prevention, where poor water and sanitation conditions and lack of social safety nets undermined nutrition outcomes. Coordination challenges across sectors and limited joint programming opportunities further restricted progress toward more holistic responses.