More than one million people in Lebanon face acute food shortages, UN says
The United Nations has warned that more than one million people in Lebanon are facing acute food shortages, a figure that could rise to 1.15 million by the middle of next year.
The UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization, the World Food Programme (WFP), and Lebanon’s Ministry of Agriculture issued a joint statement on Wednesday highlighting the dire situation.
Allison Oman Lawi, the WFP representative in Lebanon, explained that employment opportunities are limited, savings have been depleted, and debt remains high, while the cost of food, fuel, and other essentials continues to strain household budgets.
Some households can still draw on savings, borrow, cut expenses or find other ways to put food on the table. For others, those options are being exhausted. When families have nothing left to fall back on, even a small additional shock can push them deeper into crisis.
Lebanon’s Agriculture Minister Nizar Hani emphasized the need for a coordinated national response to address urgent food needs while protecting livelihoods and restoring productive capacity.
Impact of recent conflicts
The crisis is compounded by two consecutive conflicts in less than two years, with Lebanon’s authorities estimating the cost of the two wars between Israel and the Lebanese armed group Hezbollah to be about $27bn.
The last war, launched in March, displaced more than one million people, a number that has since fallen to about 300,000 following a ceasefire in June.
Despite a United States-brokered framework deal signed in June to end the fighting, Israeli forces remain in occupied land in Lebanon, and Hezbollah, which is not a party to the agreement, has not been disarmed.
Economic backdrop
The situation is further exacerbated by Lebanon’s worst-ever economic crisis, which began in 2019.
Beirut has been seeking a bailout from the International Monetary Fund but has yet to implement the reforms demanded by the institution to release the aid.
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