In the six years since the Syrian crisis began to push refugees into Lebanon, the U.N. Children’s Agency has managed to reach several previously unattainable goals. Lebanon’s entire school curriculum is up for review, the Ministry of Education is on its way to adopting a data management system, and local parents are actually choosing to send their kids to public schools.

Those achievements are part of a silver lining that UNICEF is increasingly building into emergency response elsewhere too. Donor dollars and attention don’t just relieve immediate needs in a crisis; they can be invested in responses that simultaneously improve the systems on the ground for the longer term.

UNICEF’s approach in Lebanon is in many ways indicative of a broader pivot within the organization. The new strategy merges development theories with humanitarian urgency. UNICEF plugs into existing institutions to build a long-term response, but utilizing the extra personnel, expertise, and funding that humanitarian crises require. Particularly in protracted crises, the approach offers a way to build something permanent, while also spending on one-off costs.

Read the full article by Elizabeth Dickinson about UNICEF from Devex International Development