The Impact of U.S. Aid Cuts on Syrian Refugees in Lebanon

The year 2025 marked a turning point for humanitarian assistance to Syrian refugees in Lebanon. Through Executive Order 14169 and the subsequent Rescissions Act of 2025, the U.S. government froze and rescinded billions in foreign aid, terminating more than 83 percent of USAID programs globally. This decision had an immediate and devastating impact on refugees in Lebanon, in a country already in economic collapse and hosting the highest refugee-to-population ratio in the world.

This report provides a comprehensive analysis of the consequences of these U.S. aid cuts. It draws upon testimonies from Syrian refugees, humanitarian agency reports, and academic analysis to document the ways in which funding reductions undermined survival strategies in the absence of Lebanese government support. The evidence demonstrates that due to these cuts, refugees lost access to food aid, cash assistance, healthcare subsidies, education support, and protection services and that there is still a high need of humanitarian aid support in Lebanon despite the return of the majority of Syrian refugees to Syria.

Refugees now are at higher risk of increased debt, child labour, untreated illnesses, school dropouts, eviction, and other forms of rising insecurity. Humanitarian focused UN agencies, particularly UNHCR, WFP, UNICEF, and NGOs like Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), have been forced to drastically reduce programming due to acute funding shortages. Refugees themselves have described these cuts as a “death sentence”, with one declaring: “By cutting off aid, you are killing us”. The report concludes that the USAID cuts have not only deepened vulnerabilities but also destabilized the broader humanitarian response in Lebanon. This paper underlines the need for the restoration of USAID funding, diversification of donor support, strengthening of Lebanese institutions, and long-term contingency planning for durable solutions.

This Report was written by ACHR (Access center for Human Rights).