Half of Lebanon’s population could experience a food shortage by December 2020, according to the UN. – AFP
Due to the worsening economic crisis in the country and of
the destruction of a large part of the port of Beirut, more than half of the population of
Lebanon risk of running out of basic food by the end of the year, warned the UN, this Sunday.
The government must “take immediate measures to prevent a food crisis ”, estimated Rola Dashti, head of the Economic and Social Commission of
l’ON for Western Asia (Cesao), calling on the authorities to rebuild as a priority the grain silos destroyed by the powerful explosion at the port on August 4 which devastated the city.
UN calls for immediate action
This port is normally the main point of entry for goods into a Lebanon which depends “heavily on food imports”, the UN agency noted. As a result, “more than half of the population is at risk of not being able to meet their basic food needs by the end of the year,” she warned.
“Immediate measures should be taken to avoid a food crisis: intensify monitoring of food prices, set a price cap and encourage direct sales from local producers to consumers,” said Rola Dashti.
Food prices up 141%
The organization noted that inflation is expected to exceed 50% in 2020, against 2.9% in 2019, with average food prices up 141% compared to July 2019. And to stress that the measures of confinement to fight against the novel coronavirus pandemic worsened the economic crisis that was already underway, causing poverty and unemployment rates to jump.
Cesao called on the international community to “prioritize and expand food security programs targeting refugees and host countries, to address growing vulnerability and dispel potential social tensions ”.
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