Women’s Needs and Gender Equality in Lebanon’s COVID-19 Response

Based on lessons learned from other epidemics, namely Ebola and Zika virus, this paper outlines gender issues related to the COVID-19 outbreak and response in Lebanon. Women and girls’ immediate and long-term needs must be addressed and integrated into Lebanon’s response, in order to both ensure women’s access to services and human rights, and to enable women to equally continue to contribute to shaping the response. Recommended guidelines for both immediate and longer-term action are proposed for COVID-19 stakeholders in Lebanon.