In its Emergency Appeal Progress Report, UNRWA published statistics for the number of refugee children identified as living with special educational needs or disabilities during the reporting period (1 January to 30 June 2022).
“Lebanon: sector-specific interventions: […] During the reporting period, 1,744 refugee children (876 girls, 868 boys) identified with SEN [Special Educational Needs] and disabilities – out of 2,655 children (1,313 girls, 1,342 boys) or
65.69 per cent of the total identified – were referred through the UNRWA Health Programme to complementary (non-education) services provided by external partners to support their learning development. Of this number, 474 (230 girls, 244 boys) were children presenting at least one disability, representing 27 per cent of the overall supported population. This result underachieves against the set target as the resources available, both under this EA and project funding, were not sufficient to cover all identified needs (including psychomotor or psychological therapy and assistive devices, such as batteries for hearing aids) for children with learning difficulties and speech and hearing impairments.”
(Source: UNRWA, “Syria, Lebanon and Jordan, 2022 Emergency Appeal Progress Report for the reporting period 1 January – 30 June 2022”, 3 November 2022, p. 29)
Independent researcher and consultant in social sciences, Emilie Combaz reported the following statistics in a 201851 report based on nineteen days of desk-based research and prepared for the UK Government’s Department for International Development (DFID) and its partners in support of pro-poor programmes:
“[…]. The rate of prevalence is estimated at about 10% among refugees who have fled from Palestine to Lebanon from 1947, at about 8% among Palestinian refugees from Syria, and at 10-22.8% among refugees who have fled Syria since 2011.”
(Source: “Situation of Persons with Disabilities in Lebanon.” K4D Helpdesk Report. Brighton, UK: Institute of Development Studies. Emilie Combaz, 2018, p. 2)