Children are going to bed hungry in one in five households in Lebanon as the conflict in the country exacerbates years of economic hardship, Unicef warned on Wednesday.
In a new report, Unicef said children in the war-torn country are being “pushed into hunger, out of education and into work” as families struggle to afford basic necessities. More than one in five households surveyed, or 22 per cent, reported that their children had gone to bed hungry in the previous two weeks.
Meanwhile, 31 per cent of households said their children had gone without required health care, mainly because families could not afford it. Fourteen per cent reported at least one child working.
Lebanon has been reeling from the aftermath of an unprecedented financial crisis that rocked the country in late 2019, which the World Bank has described as one of the worst in modern history.
The economy continued to spiral amid the Covid-19 pandemic and the 2020 Beirut Port explosion, with Lebanon’s GDP shrinking by almost 40 per cent and its national currency losing nearly all of its value. The latest blow came in March, when fighting between Israel and Hezbollah resumed against the backdrop of the wider regional war.
“Children and young people in Lebanon are being asked to bear a burden no child should have to carry,” said Unicef's representative in Lebanon, Marcoluigi Corsi.
“Families are being pushed to the brink, while children are missing health care and education, being pushed into work and experiencing profound psychological distress. Without urgent and sustained action, these pressures are shaping their lives for years to come,” he added.
The renewed conflict in Lebanon has taken a devastating toll on children. Since March 2, at least 261 children have been killed in Israeli attacks and 1,056 injured – an average of seven children killed or injured every day over six months, Unicef said. It found that an estimated 12 per cent of injured children were living with a disability.
Children’s education has also been severely disrupted, the report found. It said 436 schools have been damaged or destroyed in the conflict, leaving around 100,000 children outside classrooms.
Some 46 per cent of families reported cutting education spending to make ends meet, while 17 per cent said their children had to stop attending school. Unicef also warns of a “profound” psychological toll of the war on children in Lebanon.
It said an estimated 770,000 children have experienced psychological distress over the past six months. More than half of households surveyed said their children’s emotional well-being had worsened, while almost two-thirds, or 63 per cent, reported that their children were anxious or nervous.
“Without urgent and sustained action, an entire generation of children and young people risks carrying the scars of this crisis into adulthood,” said Mr Corsi. “Lebanon’s recovery depends on protecting children now and upholding their right to health care, education, protection and the opportunities they need to build their futures,” he continued.
