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The Guardian World1 min read
Over 1.2m in Lebanon expected to face acute hunger: UN-backed report
TL;DR
Over 1.2 million people in Lebanon are expected to face acute hunger this year due to conflict, displacement, and economic pressures, according to a UN-backed report. This marks a significant increase from 874,000 people experiencing food insecurity before the war began in March.
Key points
- 1.24 million people in Lebanon expected to face food insecurity
- Causes include conflict, displacement, and economic pressures
- Significant increase from 874,000 people before the war
- Report issued by UN Food and Agriculture Organization and others
- Sharp escalation in violence has reversed food security gains
More than 1.2 million people in Lebanon are expected to face acute hunger this year due to “conflict, displacement and economic pressures” amid the latest war between Israel and Hezbollah, according to a United Nations-backed report.
The UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the World Food Programme (WFP) and Lebanon’s Ministry of Agriculture issued a joint statement on Wednesday, saying that 1.24 million people were “expected to face food insecurity” at crisis levels or worse between April and August.
The figure, contained in a report conducted by the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC), a UN-backed group that monitors hunger and malnutrition, marks a “significant deterioration” compared with the outlook before the war erupted on March 2, said the statement.
Prior to March, “an estimated 874,000 people, roughly 17 percent of the population, were experiencing acute food insecurity“, it said. But a “sharp escalation in violence” had “reversed recent food security gains in Lebanon and pushed the country back into crisis”.
“Families who were just managing to cope are now being pushed back into crisis as conflict, displacement and rising costs collide, making food increasingly unaffordable,” said Allison Oman Lawi, the WFP’s country director in Lebanon.
Nora Ourabah Haddad, the FAO representative in Lebanon, said, “Compounded shocks are undermining agricultural livelihoods and impacting food security, highlighting the urgent need for emergency agricultural assistance to support farmers and prevent further deterioration.”
A ceasefire that took effect on April 17 has reduced the intensity of the fighting between Israel and the armed group Hezbollah that has killed more than 2,500 people in Lebanon and displaced more than one million, according to Lebanese authorities.
Israeli forces are operating in south Lebanon near the border, where residents have been warned not to return, and both sides have been trading fire despite the truce.
“Acute food insecurity is likely to deepen without sustained and timely humanitarian and livelihood support,” the statement said.
Q&A
What are the main causes of hunger in Lebanon in 2023?
The main causes of hunger in Lebanon include conflict, displacement, and economic pressures exacerbated by the ongoing war between Israel and Hezbollah.
How many people in Lebanon are facing food insecurity this year?
This year, more than 1.2 million people in Lebanon are expected to face food insecurity at crisis levels or worse.
What was the food insecurity situation in Lebanon before the war in March 2023?
Before the war erupted in March 2023, approximately 874,000 people in Lebanon were experiencing acute food insecurity.
