More than one million in Lebanon face acute food insecurity, UN says
More than one million people in Lebanon face acute food insecurity, the United Nations warned on Wednesday, following years of war and economic crisis.
Lebanon has endured two successive wars with neighboring Israel since 2023 and remains mired in an unprecedented economic collapse triggered seven years ago.
Nearly a quarter of the population face crisis levels of acute food insecurity or worse, said a joint statement by the U.N.'s Food and Agriculture Organization, the World Food Program and the Lebanese agriculture ministry.
They called for "urgent action" to alleviate the situation.
The number is expected to rise to 1.15 million by the middle of next year, they added.
"Employment opportunities remain limited, savings have been depleted and debt remains high, while the cost of food, fuel and other essentials continues to strain household budgets," the U.N. bodies said.
The U.N. defines such levels of food insecurity as households facing malnutrition, or only being able to meet minimum needs through emergency measures such as selling assets.
Of most concern are conditions in conflict-affected areas of south Lebanon, as well as in impoverished regions in the north and east, they said.
Lebanon's authorities estimate that the cost of two wars between Israel and Hezbollah since October 2023 amounts to around $27 billion.
The last war, launched in March in support of Hezbollah's patron Iran, displaced more than one million people in Lebanon. That number has fallen to around 300,000 since violence subsided in June.
The fighting broke out as Lebanon struggled to recover from its worst ever economic crisis, which began in 2019.
Lebanon has been seeking a bailout from the International Monetary Fund but has yet to implement reforms demanded by the institution to release the aid.
Source: Agence France Presse
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