Alarm over how crisis in Lebanon is harming children

BEIRUT－Lebanon's multifaceted crises are having severe impacts on children, who account for about one-third of the country's population of 6.8 million, a senior UNICEF official says.

"The country's economic collapse, political instability and the COVID-19 pandemic have combined to leave many children in a dire situation by affecting just about every aspect of their lives such as schooling, physical and mental health, and access to a proper and sufficient nutrition," said Ettie Higgins, UNICEF deputy representative in Lebanon.

Talking of the severe effects of the crisis on children, Higgins cited the Child-Focused Rapid Assessment that UNICEF published in April saying that 9 percent of families sent their children to work, 15 percent stopped their children's education and 60 percent had to buy food on credit or borrow money. Some families have even been marrying off their young daughters to reduce economic stress.

Forty percent of children are from families in which no one has work, and 77 percent are from families that do not receive any social assistance, Higgins said.

Even worse, more than 30 percent of families surveyed in March said their children went to bed hungry and skipped meals.

Decades of corruption and mismanagement have turned Lebanon into a bankrupt state with public debt exceeding $95 billion. Banks have become paralyzed and savers were deprived of gaining access to their deposits. Lebanon's currency has collapsed, food prices have soared and annual inflation has reached 85 percent, a record high. Hundreds of thousands of people have lost their jobs with the outbreak of COVID-19, and the Beirut port explosion on Aug 4 last year that killed more than 200 people.

A recent study by the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia reported that poverty affects 74 percent of all Lebanese.

'Particularly worrying'

"As the crisis shows no signs of easing, this is particularly worrying for the future of the 2.1 million children living in Lebanon, 64 percent of whom need support," Higgins said.

Furthermore, the fuel crisis is affecting all essential services including water and sanitation, leaving hospitals and health centers without access to safe water due to electricity shortages, while exposing more than 4 million people across Lebanon, predominantly vulnerable children and families, to the risks of facing critical water shortages or being completely cut off from safe water supply in the coming days.

UNICEF has been working with partners and donors to secure water services for up to 4 million people, which costs $40 million a year, Higgins said.

Xinhua