Najia Houssari 

BEIRUT: Three years of economic devastation in Lebanon have plunged children into poverty, affecting their health, welfare and education, shattering their hopes and breaking down family relationships, a new UN report has revealed.

UNICEF carried out a rapid assessment in Lebanon to examine the impact of the wide-ranging poverty crisis on children’s lives in the country. 

The report is based on a study conducted last September — involving 1,500 families with at least one child — including Syrian and Palestinian refugees, as well as Lebanese families.

According to the survey, 84 percent of Lebanese households lack sufficient money to cover the necessities of life, while 38 percent have reduced expenses on education compared with 26 percent in April 2021, and 60 percent have cut spending on health treatment compared with 42 percent in April 2021.

The report also showed that 70 percent of households are now covering the costs of food by borrowing money or buying food on credit, while 36 percent of caregivers revealed that they became less tolerant and harsher in dealing with their children, which constitutes a significant danger.

The report was released on Thursday at a press conference in Beirut by the UNICEF representative in Lebanon, Edward Begbeder.

In a parallel development, the General Directorate of the Lebanese Security Forces announced that two children had been subjected to unprecedented violence by their parents.  

A picture shared on social media showing an eight-month-old baby with his mouth covered by duct tape and hands and legs tied caused a wave of condemnation.

A 30-year-old Syrian man was detained in the Lebanese southeastern region of Rachaya after his wife sued him for abusing her and their son. He is believed to have confessed, saying that he could not handle the child’s crying.

Two days before this incident, security forces in the southern region of Jezzine arrested a 37-year-old Syrian man for physically abusing his 13-year-old son.

Children’s rights are under growing threat in Lebanon due to the economic crisis and fallout from the global pandemic.

Soaring prices and widespread unemployment have plunged thousands of families into poverty, leaving children with their basic needs unmet.

The UNICEF report also showed that the economic crisis and subsequent loss of hope have significantly affected children’s mental health.

In many cases, they feel let down after losing trust in parents who are unable to meet their basic needs. This, in turn, increases tensions in the household, said the report.

It added that the traditional parent-child relationship is being destroyed as children are increasingly sent out to work while adults are unemployed.

According to the report, polarization between and within communities has led to an increase in violence in homes and schools. 

This made neighborhoods and streets unsafe, limited children’s access to play, and badly affected girls, who are increasingly restricted from leaving their homes for fear of being harassed.

The UNICEF representative said that children are growing up without enough food and proper health care. In many cases, they are forced to work to support their families.

Begbeder added that the issue required a “multidimensional response” based on strengthening the social security system in Lebanon in order to ensure the protection of vulnerable children’s rights.

“This means increasing access to social services, scaling up social assistance and providing social grants for the most vulnerable families,” he said.

Meanwhile, utility provider Electricity of Lebanon announced on Thursday that it is running out of supplies for public facilities, such as the airport and the port.

The company said that the Al-Zahrani power plant will be out of service on Friday after running out of gas oil, which will bring energy production across Lebanon to a halt.

Gas oil supplies at the power plant in the south of Lebanon have almost run out, the company said.

The Al-Zahrani facility is the only remaining plant in operation, after gas oil supplies at the Deir Ammar plant in the north ran out.

Lebanon has yet to receive a gas oil shipment from Iraq during August despite an exchange agreement between the two countries.

The electricity provider has not been told whether a shipment will be sent in September.

The likely dates on which electricity from Jordan will arrive and the extraction of natural gas from Egypt will begin are not yet known.

Funding for both project is yet to be secured.

Power cuts stopped parliamentary committees from holding their meetings.

Catering firms supplying food to prisons in Lebanon warned caretaker Interior Minister Bassam Mawlawi that they will stop their services if funding is not secured, with seven months of outstanding payments still to be settled.

“We can no longer secure the requested food deliveries, amid the country’s difficult conditions and the continuous fluctuations in the Lebanese pounds exchange rate,” the companies said.