BEIRUT: A coalition of charities concerned with helping Syrian refugees in Lebanon warned Wednesday that the refugee population stood at 300,000 people, although the government has asked for international funding to cover only 200,000 individuals.

“The biggest problem faced by refugees is shelter, due to the scarcity of housing and rising rental rates, which stand at an average of $300 a month,” the group said in a statement.

While the Lebanese government has asked the United Nations for a sum of $370 million to cover only 200,000 refugees for a single year, the group said “the catastrophe is huge; we are talking about huge numbers of people in Lebanon, which have reached 300,000 refugees up to now.”

It said the largest numbers were recorded in three areas: 14,000 families in the Bekaa Valley, and 12,000 families in both Tripoli and Akkar.

The statement was accompanied by figures based on the results of their survey of conditions faced by refugees around the country.

The coalition said it had paid for 1,000 deliveries for Syrians not registered with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, along with 4,150 cases of hospitalization.

The coalition said it helped cover the costs of “thousands” of other medical-related cases, and said the medicine and hospitalization situation should also be considered “catastrophic.”

It cited mobile clinics as a “successful” part of the response to the crisis, urging that such clinics be expanded and better-equipped. The coalition said it has distributed 60,000 blankets and 70,000 beds.