Since 2015, Oxfam in Lebanon has played a pioneering role in supporting the resilience and development of Lebanon’s public water institutions, particularly the regional Water Establishments (WEs). This engagement, which evolved from humanitarian WaSH programming, saw Oxfam become a vanguard, influencing public strategy by introducing initiatives like solarization pre-2019, long before the national crisis made it a widespread practice. Against a backdrop of chronic economic crisis, violent conflict, and a fragile institutional landscape, Oxfam’s systemic engagement has matured to include infrastructure rehabilitation, technical staff secondment, and capacity development. This work has focused chiefly on the Bekaa Water Establishment (BWE) but has also targeted the other three WEs at various times: the South Lebanon Water Establishment (SLWE), the North Lebanon Water Establishment (NLWE), and the Beirut Mount Lebanon Water Establishment (BMLWE).
This report presents a summative evaluation of Oxfam's support to Lebanon's regional WEs over the past decade. Against a backdrop of severe economic crisis, conflict, and institutional fragility, Oxfam's interventions in infrastructure, capacity building, and emergency response have been both highly relevant and effective. The organization played a pioneering role in the sector, introducing strategic initiatives like solarization pre-2019, which proved critical during the nation's subsequent energy (and more broadly, economic) crisis and war.