According to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), the preliminary results of the 2022 Vulnerability Assessment reflect the food insecurity in the households of this Syrian population on Lebanese soil, even if the most basic needs are beyond the reach of the majority.
Due to the crisis in the nation, adults are eating less, cutting health and education spending to prioritize grocery shopping.
In this sense, the UNHCR analysis found that a large proportion of refugee families have accumulated large debts by borrowing money and 87 per cent of them cited food as their top priority, followed by shelter and medical care.
The analysis found that 60 percent of Syrian children between the ages of six and 14 would be attending school regularly by 2022, with the attendance rate for upper secondary school youth falling to eight percent.
In addition, less than half of babies under five months are exclusively breastfed and only 11 percent meet the minimum number of meals and food groups per day.
According to UNHCR, six out of ten Syrian refugee boys and girls experienced violent disciplinary measures.
Amidst this scenario, United Nations agencies such as the World Food Programme, the Children’s Fund and UNHCR are calling for support and protection for vulnerable families in the country.
The socio-economic situation in Lebanon continued to deteriorate in 2022 along with inflation and the devaluation of the Lebanese pound, with the informal exchange rate crossing 40,000 to the US dollar at some point, double the 2021 level.
Such problems affect all population groups living in the country: Lebanese, refugees and migrants, stressed UNHCR.
Figures from Lebanon’s General Security showed that about two million 80,000 Syrians live on national territory, while more than 540,000 returned voluntarily to their country after the return plan began in 2017.
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