9 out of 10 families in Lebanon unable to buy essentials: UNICEF

About 9 out of 10 families in cash-strapped Lebanon do not have enough money to buy necessities, the United Nations children’s agency has said.

“Families in Lebanon are barely able to meet their most basic needs despite cutting down drastically on expenses,” UNICEF said in a statement on Tuesday.

“A growing number of families are having to resort to sending their children – some as young as six years old - to work in a desperate effort to survive the socio-economic crisis engulfing the country,” it added.

A survey conducted by the UN agency found that almost 9 in 10 households in Lebanon do not have enough money to buy essentials.

“Fifteen percent of households stopped their children’s education, up from 10 percent a year ago, and 52 percent reduced spending on education, compared to 38 percent a year ago,” it said.

According to UNICEF, three-quarters of households have reduced health treatment spending, compared to 6 in 10 last year.

The survey also found that 2 in 5 households have been forced to sell family possessions, up from one in five last year.

“The compounding crises facing the children of Lebanon are creating an unbearable situation – breaking their spirit, damaging their mental health and threatening to wipe out their hope for a better future,” said Edouard Beigbeder, UNICEF representative in Lebanon.

The Middle Eastern country has been facing a crippling economic crisis since 2019, that, according to the World Bank, is one of the worst the world has seen in modern times.