A new UNICEF report is shedding light on the growing hardships faced by children in Lebanon, as years of economic crisis are compounded by renewed conflict and displacement. The report found that families are struggling to afford basic necessities, with children increasingly facing hunger, disrupted education, limited healthcare, and psychological distress.
1 in 5 Children Are Going to Bed Hungry
According to UNICEF, 22 percent of households surveyed, more than one in five, said their children had gone to bed hungry in the previous two weeks.
The reports also showed that four in five households reported struggling to afford necessities, as the economic crisis and conflict continue to put pressure on families.
Healthcare has also become harder to access. 31 percent of households said their children had gone without required healthcare, mainly because their families could not afford it. Meanwhile, 14 percent reported that at least one child in the household was working.
UNICEF Lebanon Representative Marcoluigi Corsi highlighted the “profound psychological distress” impacting an estimated 770,000 youngsters.
“Children and young people in Lebanon are being asked to bear a burden no child should have to carry.”
“Families are being pushed to the brink, while children are missing health care and education, being pushed into work and experiencing profound psychological distress. Without urgent and sustained action, these pressures are shaping their lives for years to come,” he added.
Education Is Taking a Major Hit
Children’s education has also been severely disrupted by the conflict. UNICEF reported that 436 schools have been damaged or destroyed, leaving around 100,000 children outside classrooms.
As families struggle to make ends meet, 46 percent said they had cut education spending, while 17 percent reported that their children had stopped attending school.
Years of Crisis, Made Worse by War
Lebanon has already been dealing with the aftermath of an unprecedented financial crisis that began in late 2019, which the World Bank has described as one of the worst economic crises in modern history.
The renewed conflict has added another layer of hardship, causing deaths, injuries, displacement and damage to essential infrastructure.
Since March 2, at least 261 children have been killed and 1,056 injured in Israeli attacks, UNICEF said. That means an average of seven children have been killed or injured every day over six months. UNICEF also estimates that 12 percent of injured children are now living with a disability.
For children across Lebanon, the impact of the crisis is being felt in some of the most basic parts of everyday life, from having enough food to eat and accessing healthcare to staying in school and coping with the psychological effects of conflict.
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