UN warns about food insecurity in over a million in Lebanon

Ma million people are facing acute food insecurity in Lebanon, following two wars with Israel and a seven-year economic crisis, today they have warned UN agencies, calling for urgent action in the face of the situation.

“More than a million people live in acute food insecurity,” which means that they have already reduced the amount of food consumed, omitting meals or feeling hungry throughout the day, the FAO (United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization), WFP (World Food Programme) and the Lebanese Ministry of Agriculture have moved forward together.

The number should reach 1.15 million people “by the middle of 2027”, they said, remembering that this will represent almost a quarter of the Lebanese population.

“ Employment opportunities remain limited, family savings have been exhausted and debt levels remain high, while the cost of food, fuel and other basic goods continues to exert pressure on family budgets,” the agencies stressed.

The situation “requires urgent action” and “continues to be particularly worrying in conflict-affected areas in the south” but also in impoverished regions in the north and east of the country.

The Lebanese authorities estimate the cost of the two wars waged by the Shia Hezbollah movement, which is pro-Iran, against Israel since October 2023 at about EUR 24 billion.

The latest war, which began in March in support of Iran, after the joint attack by the United States and Israel, caused the displacement of more than a million people.

This figure has dropped to about 300,000 since the decline in violence in June.

Wars take place at a time when Lebanon, which suffered an unprecedented economic collapse in 2019, has not yet implemented the reforms required by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to release an aid package for the country.