Lebanon food insecurity affects more than 1m, UN says

More than one million people in Lebanon face acute food insecurity after years of war and economic crisis, United Nations agencies and Lebanon's agriculture ministry warned Wednesday.

A joint statement by the UN's Food and Agriculture Organization, the World Food Programme and the Lebanese agriculture ministry said nearly a quarter of Lebanon's population faces crisis levels of acute food insecurity or worse. They called for urgent action and said the number is expected to rise to 1.15 million by the middle of next year.

The UN defines such levels of food insecurity as households facing malnutrition or meeting minimum needs only through emergency measures such as selling assets.

The agencies said employment opportunities remain limited, savings have been depleted, debt is high and the cost of food, fuel and other essentials continues to strain household budgets.

They said conflict-affected areas of south Lebanon and impoverished regions in the north and east are of greatest concern.

Lebanon's authorities estimate that two wars between Israel and Hezbollah since October 2023 have cost around $27 billion. The latest war displaced more than one million people in Lebanon, a figure that has fallen to around 300,000 since violence subsided in June.

The fighting came as Lebanon was still struggling with an economic crisis that began in 2019. Beirut has sought a bailout from the International Monetary Fund but has not yet implemented reforms required to release the aid.