Priority Humanitarian Needs

Armed conflict and political instability has impacted over 3 million people across Libya. An estimated 2.44 million people are in need of protection and some form of humanitarian assistance. this includes internally displaced persons (IDps), the non- displaced conflict-affected population, refugees, asylum-seekers and migrants. the crisis is predominantly urban centered with most of the fighting taking place in major cities such as Benghazi, tripoli, misrata, Sirte, Sabha and Derna.

Health and protection needs of the affected population stand out in terms of scope, scale and severity. this is the result of major shortages of essential medicines and a debilitated primary healthcare system, which have led to an increase in serious illnesses and disease. the conflict has restricted access to basic services, led to forced displacement and impacted people’s safety and security.

the displaced are the most vulnerable due to limited coping capacity and loss of assets, particularly displaced women, children, the elderly and those with low economic means. refugees, asylum-seekers and migrants are also considered some of the most vulnerable, due to their exposed risk to discrimination and exploitation based on their status. the most severe needs in terms of geographic areas are those of affected people in the east and south of the country.

the Libya Humanitarian needs Overview (HnO) is based on a number of needs assessments conducted in 2015, including the un inter-agency multi-Sector needs Assessment (mSnA), sector needs and gap analysis based on information from on- going humanitarian operations in Libya and available secondary sources. In areas where conflict and insecurity impeded access to affected people, there are some significant gaps in information in terms of the scale and scope of humanitarian needs. there are also information gaps for some of the sectors, especially where national information collection and reporting systems are weak, such as for protection. Despite these challenges, the HnO broadly summarizes the priority humanitarian needs of all those affected across Libya.