The Lebanese crisis continues to worsen and to claim victims. Among them, their children – who are hungry. According to a frightening report published by UNICEF, the United Nations fund for issues related to children, the living conditions of this population are rapidly deteriorating.
In April, 37% of Lebanese families had at least one child deprived of one of the basic meals of the day. In September, the number passed 50%. Also according to the UN fund, more than 30% of the families that participated in the study cut spending on their children’s education. In April, the percentage was 36%. The rate of children who did not receive necessary medical care due to lack of money ranged from 28% to 34%. The study was conducted over the phone in April with 1,244 households and repeated in October with 838 of those same households.
Lebanon has been living an economic nightmare for years. Today, almost 75% of the population lives below the poverty line. One in seven households need to buy food on credit or borrow food. Almost half of Lebanese families sold household goods during the crisis.
Lebanon has an unpayable public debt, which this year reached the equivalent of 174% of its GDP — that is, much more than the country produces in an entire year. Since the end of the civil war, fought from 1975 to 1990, Lebanon has basically taken out loans to repay loans, a situation that is now approaching the limit and thus alarming financial institutions.”
The scenario is aggravated by inflation, the devaluation of its currency and unemployment. On top of that, an explosion in the port of Beirut in August 2020 left 207 dead and billions of dollars in damage. According to a report by the World Bank, Lebanon is heading for one of the worst economies in the world since the mid-19th century. Its GDP per capita dropped 40% from 2018 to 2020.
This unprecedented crisis has mobilized the population in view of parliamentary elections scheduled for March 2022. Recently, activists campaigned for voters in the diaspora — including Brazil’s important community — to register to vote. This year, 244,000 Lebanese abroad registered. In 2018, there were just over 80 thousand people.
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