Understanding Anjar’s Vulnerability and Capacity to Adapt to Evolving Climate Risks

Abstract

Climate change poses increasing risks to human health and livelihoods, especially in rural areas with limited institutional and environmental health infrastructure. In Lebanon, evidence on how community climate vulnerability and health intersect remain minimal, limiting the effectiveness of interventions and local adaptation planning. This study examines whether the health profile of a town reflects its community’s vulnerability to climate change. A cross-sectional mixed-methods assessment was conducted combining the Livelihood Vulnerability Index adapted to the Inter-Governmental Panel on Climate Change framework (LVI–IPCC), the WHO Healthy Villages framework, and WHO climate vulnerability checklists for primary healthcare facilities. Household-level data were collected from 241 households across Anjar’s six neighborhoods and outskirts using structured surveys. Stakeholder interviews informed the Healthy Villages assessment and the climate vulnerability of the town’s two primary healthcare centers which were evaluated using WHO checklists covering workforce, WASH, energy, and infrastructure domains. Results indicate that Anjar exhibits moderate overall climate vulnerability with an overall score of -0.056, characterized by relatively high exposure (0.492) and sensitivity (0.257) that are partially offset by strong adaptive capacity (0.711). Strong adaptive capacity is largely rooted in strong social networks and high climate change knowledge, which have scores of 0.783 and 0.735 respectively. However, the town’s health profile demonstrated that significant environmental health shortcomings persist, particularly in WASH and Waste Management. Both primary healthcare centers demonstrated high vulnerability to droughts, floods, heatwaves, and wildfires, reflecting limited preparedness and institutional capacity to respond to climate-related health shocks. The findings demonstrate that the health profile of a town both reflects and shapes climate vulnerability, mediated by social, environmental, and institutional conditions. Integrating the LVI–IPCC with the WHO Healthy Villages framework provides a scalable and adaptable approach for determining climate–health vulnerabilities in Lebanese rural contexts.