The severe economic crisis that began in Lebanon in 2019 plunged 44 percent of the population into poverty and, along with the war between Hezbollah and Israel, have increased “the vulnerability of the people to human trafficking,” said Nayiri Arslanian, a social worker in Lebanon for 20 years.
Ms. Arslanian volunteers as the field coordinator of Wells of Hope, an initiative of Talitha Kum, the Rome-based international network combatting human trafficking.
“We run awareness sessions about human trafficking in schools, organizations and parishes,” said Good Shepherd Sister Marie Claude Naddaf (1), regional coordinator and founder of Wells of Hope.
The organization reached 3,220 people with its awareness sessions in Lebanon last year and assists trafficked persons, as well as vulnerable populations at risk of being trafficked, with medical care, education and employment.
CNEWA-Pontifical Mission has been supporting Wells of Hope since 2020.
Ms. Arslanian reported “more sex trafficking and child labor in recent years.” Migrant domestic workers have become a group especially at risk of trafficking, either through forced labor or sexual exploitation, she said.
While there is no comprehensive data on human trafficking in Lebanon, the U.S. Department of State’s 2024 Trafficking in Persons Report indicates organizations across Lebanon identified around 1,100 people who requested assistance, including shelter, legal and cash assistance, and repatriation to their home countries.
Between 160,000 and 250,000 migrant women, mostly from Sub-Saharan Africa and Southeast Asia, are estimated to be in Lebanon, according to a report by Migrant Workers’ Action, which advocates for a just immigration and labor system for migrant workers in the country.
These women come to Lebanon under a sponsorship system (“kafala” in Arabic) that excludes them from the protections in Lebanon’s labor law and gives their sponsor almost complete control over their lives.
This system “creates a power imbalance between the employer and the worker, which allows for forced labor to happen,” said Ghina al-Andary, who works in the anti-trafficking unit of Kafa, an organization dedicated to the elimination of gender-based violence and exploitation. Kafa also operates a shelter and a hotline for domestic workers abused by their employers and offers case management.
These organizations have been working in a context of reduced funding since January 2025, when the U.S. administration drastically cut foreign assistance, from $77 billion in obligations for 2024 to $13 billion for 2025. European countries, including the United Kingdom, France and Germany, also announced drastic cuts.
“We have observed a general decrease in funding, especially on migration, labor rights and community-led programs,” said Dara Foi’Elle, who works as a policy and communications manager with Migrant Workers’ Action.
The U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) reports that of the organizations that received funding termination notices, women led 80 percent.
She said the lack of funding hinders the efforts of “community and migrant-led groups that successfully self-organize” and limits “legal assistance and cash assistance for medical care, already available only for limited periods of time.”
“Most types of funding are responding to humanitarian emergencies, rather than providing long-term services,” she added.
The U.N. Refugee Agency (UNHCR), which also combats human trafficking, reported cutting 43 percent of its programs in its Middle East and northern Africa region in response to the U.S. freeze in foreign assistance.
UNHCR is among the funders of Caritas Lebanon, the social service organization of Lebanon’s Catholic churches, which operates two shelters for migrant domestic workers and one for refugees in the country.
“Thankfully our anti-trafficking activities were not affected [by these cuts], and we turned to other Caritas offices to close the gaps in funding,” said Noha Roukoss, Caritas Lebanon’s advocacy manager.
However, UNHCR’s cutbacks “resulted in budget cuts” at Kafa and “a shift in activities, which makes our work harder,” Ms. Andary said. While none of Kafa’s services had been discontinued at the time of publication, Ms. Andary warned fewer services will be available to women if the organization is unable to secure additional funding, “as the Lebanese state does not provide those services.”
As well, smaller initiatives that rely on Kafa’s services soon may no longer be able to do so. Franciscan Missionary of Mary Sister Wardeh Kayrouz, assists 50 vulnerable people per month in the underprivileged neighborhood of Nabaa, on the outskirts of Beirut. Some are survivors of sex trafficking or organ trafficking. She helps them access medical care, education and provides them with infant formula and diapers.
“In the past, I have referred women to the shelter that Kafa operates,” she said, adding that she has been receiving more requests for financial assistance since the funding cuts in January.
- Editor’s note: Sister Marie Claude Naddaf will be the guest of honour at the CNEWA Canada Gala – “Light in the East” this coming November, sharing powerful stories and moments of hope related to her fight against human trafficking in the Middle East. ↩︎