Over 30 pc kids in Lebanon remain hungry: Unicef

In Lebanon, one in 10 children have been sent to work, 40 per cent of children are from families where no one has work and 77 per cent of them are from families that do not receive any social assistance, Xinhua news agency reported citing a Unicef survey published on Thursday. 

The survey also found that 15 per cent of the Lebanese families stopped their children's education, while 80 per cent of caregivers said their children had difficulties concentrating on their studies at home, which might mean hunger or mental distress. 

It also revealed that 60 per cent of households have to buy food on credit or borrow money. 

"With no improvement in sight, more children than ever before are going to bed hungry in Lebanon," said Yukie Mokuo, Unicef representative in Lebanon. 

"Children's health, education and their very futures are affected as prices are skyrocketing and unemployment continues to increase," Mokuo added. 

The protracted economic depression is just one of the compounding crises in Lebanon, which is reeling from the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic and the aftermath of the massive August 2020 Beirut Port explosions, as well as the persistent political instability, said the Unicef survey. 

While the 1.5 million Syrian refugees are the most hard-hit, the number of Lebanese people in need of support is growing rapidly. 

"The World Bank has described what is happening in Lebanon as possibly one of the top three economic collapses seen since the mid 19th Century. 

"What the Unicef survey shows is that children are bearing the brunt of this escalating catastrophe," Mokuo added.