UN Report Warns Over One Million People in Lebanon Face Acute Food Insecurity

More than one million people in Lebanon are currently experiencing acute food insecurity following consecutive armed conflicts and a severe economic downturn. A joint report published on Wednesday by the UN Food and Agriculture Organization, the World Food Programme, and Lebanon’s Ministry of Agriculture projects that this number will rise to 1.15 million by the middle of next year.

According to the combined assessment, nearly a quarter of the country’s population faces major obstacles in securing daily nutritional needs. Household budgets have come under sustained pressure from high inflation in food and fuel prices, compounded by widespread job shortages and accumulated debt. WFP country representative Allison Oman Lawi stated that many families are running out of financial reserves and traditional coping mechanisms.

Lebanon’s Agriculture Minister Nizar Hani called for a coordinated national response to address immediate food shortages while rebuilding agricultural production capacity. Government estimates place the financial damage from two conflicts between Israel and Hezbollah since October 2023 at approximately 27 billion dollars. A military escalation in March displaced more than one million residents, though official figures show that figure has decreased to roughly 300,000 since fighting subsided in June.

A truce framework negotiated under United States mediation in June established terms for an Israeli withdrawal and the deployment of the Lebanese armed forces into vacated southern regions. Under the agreement, Beirut was tasked with disarming Hezbollah, which was not a signatory to the accord. Israeli forces currently maintain positions on Lebanese territory.

The food security crisis comes while Lebanon attempts to recover from a systemic financial breakdown that began in 2019. The government in Beirut has sought a bailout package from the International Monetary Fund, but the release of international financial aid remains contingent on structural economic reforms that have not yet been implemented.

Written by Christiane Hofreiter christiane.hofreiter@alpineweekly.com