Executive Summary
Debt is widely recognized as a double-edged instrument: at the macro level, it can fund
growth and essential services, but at the household level, it often represents both survival
and constraint. In fragile settings, where formal safety nets are limited, borrowing increasingly
serves as a de facto social protection mechanism, allowing families to secure food, housing,
or healthcare when income falls short. Yet this coping strategy carries emotional and financial
costs, deepening cycles of dependence, stress, and inequality, particularly among poorer
households, women, and refugees.
Since 2019, Lebanon has faced overlapping crises, economic collapse, the COVID-19 pandemic,
the Beirut Port explosion, and the on-going conflict, that have collectively weakened livelihoods
and household resilience. Public debt now exceeds 180 % of GDP, inflation surpassed 200%
in 2023, and unemployment continues to rise. As a result, borrowing has surged across all
population groups. Recent assessments (VASyR 2024; MSNA 2024) show that 63 % of Lebanese,
55 % of migrants, and 88 % of Syrian refugees are in debt, often relying on informal credit to
meet basic needs. However, these sources mainly document the scale of indebtedness rather
than its drivers. This study therefore fills a critical data and analytical gap by examining how
households in Lebanon perceive, manage, and adapt to debt under crisis conditions and how
Cash and Voucher assistance (CVA) influences borrowing, repayment, and resilience
