SYRIAN refugees in Lebanon are foregoing treatment and running up huge debts because of funding shortfalls and medical care gaps, Amnesty International warned today.

The human rights watchdog unleashed wide-ranging criticism of the funding of refugee aid in Lebanon, saying the international community bore a large share of the blame.

“Hospital treatment and more specialised care for Syrian refugees in Lebanon is woefully insufficient, with the situation exacerbated by a massive shortage of international funding,” said Amnesty spokeswoman Audrey Gaughran.

“Syrian refugees in Lebanon are suffering as a direct result of the international community’s shameful failure to fully fund the UN relief programme in Lebanon.”

Amnesty said Lebanon’s fragmented and expensive healthcare system made it difficult for Syrian refugees to afford treatment on their own.

UN refugee agency UNHCR provides assistance to some Syrians in need of care but has imposed restrictive criteria and requires refugees to share 25 per cent of costs because of underfunding.

Amnesty said many refugees already struggling to make ends meet were running up huge debts to pay for medical treatment.

And some are simply going without treatment, risking death or permanent disability.

But the charity praised Lebanon for continuing to accept refugees, noting that over a million Syrians had found refuge in a country of just four million citizens.

But it noted that the government’s refusal to allow the establishment of field hospitals was hampering expansion of medical access for refugees and urged Lebanon to develop a national health strategy.

The watchdog called on all countries to urgently increase funding for the UN Syria crisis response plan, increase support to Lebanon and other host nations and increase their own Syrian refugee intake.

“It’s time for the international community to recognise the consequences of its failure to provide adequate assistance to refugees from the conflict in Syria,” Ms Gaughran said.

“There is a desperate need for countries to fulfil the humanitarian appeal for Syria and step up efforts to offer resettlement places for the most vulnerable of refugees, including those in dire need of medical treatment.”