Back to Contents “Relief and Social Services: UNRWA supports 61,709 Palestine refugees in Lebanon through a social safety net programme with yearly payments of US$ 130 per individual. As of January 2022 the Agency will also support more than 29,000 refugees from Syria (PRS) with monthly payments of US$ 25 per person. […] This level of support is below the actual needs and expectations of the refugees”. (Source: UNRWA, “Palestine Refugees in Lebanon: Struggling to Survive” 18 January 2022, p. 12) Palestinian Refugees from Syria incur debt as a way to secure their basic needs and cope with the rising cost of living: “A staggering 74 per cent of the PRS families use debt as a strategy to cope with expenses. […] PRS families across the country are equally affected inside and outside camps, but with variations among areas of residence ranging from 69 and 70 percent in the Saida and the Tyre areas, respectively, to 79.6 and 81.3 percent in the NLA and the Beqaa area, respectively. […] Three quarters of the PRS families incur debt on food (75.4 percent), with percentages of food-related family debts peaking at 83.7 percent among the severely food insecure. Half of them incur debt on rent (50.3 percent). Other sources of debt include medical expenses (27.9 percent), electricity bills (13 percent), transportation costs (two percent) and other miscellaneous sources (16.3 percent) 46 such as tobacco, drinking water and educational expenses.” (Source: UNRWA, “Socio-economic Survey on Palestine Refugees from Syria Living in Lebanon”, 28 April 2021, p. 60) 9. Access to labour market, means of basic subsistence 110