Lebanon’s Economic Crises Affect Fertility Rates

 A pharmacy employee holds a box of medication in Beirut, Lebanon, May 28, 2021. (Reuters)
A pharmacy employee holds a box of medication in Beirut, Lebanon, May 28, 2021. (Reuters)
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Lebanon’s Economic Crises Affect Fertility Rates

 A pharmacy employee holds a box of medication in Beirut, Lebanon, May 28, 2021. (Reuters)
A pharmacy employee holds a box of medication in Beirut, Lebanon, May 28, 2021. (Reuters)

Lebanese mother, Hiyam, in her twenties, preferred to undergo an abortion rather than having a second child in a country torn apart by crises, as she told Asharq Al-Awsat.

Despite what she described as a “rational” decision, she expressed her “deep sadness and fear of violating the Sharia.”

But she continued with a series of questions: “How will we secure milk, diapers, and medicines? How will we be able to afford the expenses of two children? And before all that, in which hospital will I deliver the baby and at what cost?”

While no official statistics indicate the number of abortions currently taking place in Lebanon, as such operations are usually kept secret, Hiyam said that the decision was not easy, and she always hoped that her little daughter would have a brother or sister.

“But a crime that's greater than abortion is to bring a helpless child into a country where we do not know from where the strikes will come,” she added.

Stressing that her doctor advised her not to resort to this option, Hiyam said: “We know more about our financial capabilities, and we can hardly secure milk and diapers for my young daughter... We refuse to be unfair with our two children!”

Lebanon has been rocked by a severe economic collapse since 2019, the worst in decades. Its repercussions did not exclude any aspect of the life of the Lebanese citizens, affecting vital needs of food, water, fuel, medicine and hospitalization.

As a result of this collapse, many Lebanese are reluctant to take the step of having children, fearing that this would increase their daily suffering amid the high prices of the needs of newborns on one hand and the severe shortage of medications and vaccines on the other.

The price of a box of infant formula increased from LBP 12,000 to LBP 100,000, while the price of diapers, according to quality, now ranges from LBP 150,000 to LBP 250,000. With the lifting of government subsidies, the prices of medicine and vaccinations for children, if found, have also soared.

Sabine, 36, who has been married for four years, told Asharq Al-Awsat that her dream of motherhood “may have evaporated with all the crises we are witnessing in Lebanon.”

She said that she got married in 2018, and she and her husband chose to postpone the step of having children for two years to be able to pay off the debts of the wedding ceremony and home furniture and also enjoy life before bearing a great responsibility.

Sabine and her husband are looking for a job in an Arab country or for emigration to a European country “to start a better life and a suitable environment for raising children.”

In remarks to Asharq Al-Awsat, Researcher at Information International Mohammad Shamseddine said that 92,957 childbirths were registered in Lebanon in 2018, compared to 86,584 in 2019. The number continued to decline in 2020 and reached 74,049.

Although the numbers for 2021 are not final yet, Shamseddine expects an additional decrease in the number of births in Lebanon, which he said will not exceed 60,000.

Several reasons led to this decline, he explained, including the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic and the severe economic crisis.



Syria's Aviation Comeback Struggles amid Regional Turmoil

An airport worker walks on the tarmac next to a Syrian Air plane at the Damascus International Airport on January 7, 2025. (Photo by LOUAI BESHARA / AFP)
An airport worker walks on the tarmac next to a Syrian Air plane at the Damascus International Airport on January 7, 2025. (Photo by LOUAI BESHARA / AFP)
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Syria's Aviation Comeback Struggles amid Regional Turmoil

An airport worker walks on the tarmac next to a Syrian Air plane at the Damascus International Airport on January 7, 2025. (Photo by LOUAI BESHARA / AFP)
An airport worker walks on the tarmac next to a Syrian Air plane at the Damascus International Airport on January 7, 2025. (Photo by LOUAI BESHARA / AFP)

Poor infrastructure, regional conflict and sporadic Israeli airstrikes are holding back more airlines from returning to Syria, industry officials told Reuters, hampering efforts to rebuild a shattered economy after 14 years of civil war.

This month, at least 11 foreign airlines are scheduled to fly into Syria, up from just three a year ago, as sanctions are scaled back following the overthrow of long-time leader Bashar al-Assad in December 2024.

These include the world's largest international carrier, Dubai's Emirates, and the first two European Union-based airlines to fly into Syria since 2011: Romania's Dan Air and Greece's Air Mediterranean, Reuters said.

But airlines such as Royal Jordanian, FlyDubai, Turkish Airlines and Qatar Airways last month were forced to cancel many of their recently launched flights as airspace across the Middle East closed to civil air traffic due to air and missile attacks involving Israel, the US and Iran.

There are dangers closer to home too. Israel carried out strikes against Syrian government forces in southwestern Syria for a second day on Tuesday, vowing to keep the area demilitarized and to protect the Druze minority there.

At the same time, airlines are worried about the state of Syria's aviation infrastructure and management of the industry.

"Progress is needed in regulatory oversight, infrastructure investment, and compliance with international safety and operational standards," industry body the International Air Transport Association said.

Major carriers such as Lufthansa and Air France KLM, which used to fly to Syria pre-war, have visited Damascus airport to assess the infrastructure and former offices, officials at Damascus airport and Syria's aviation regulator told Reuters.

However, both airlines told Reuters they had no current interest in resuming flights.

Small Romanian airline Dan Air launched its Bucharest to Damascus route last month.

"What held back operators until now were the logistical and regulatory complexities," Dan Air CEO Matt Ian David told Reuters, adding that eased sanctions would now make Syria more accessible.

Emirates at the end of May resumed flying over Syria for the first time since the civil war, shaving up to an hour off a Dubai to Beirut flight.

However, several countries, including Britain and the United States, still advise their airlines to avoid flying over Syria. Europe's aviation regulator EASA says "there is a risk of both intentional targeting and misidentification of civil aircraft".

Syria completely reopened its airspace on June 24, its civil air authority said.

Damascus Airport's two runways were bombed during the civil war, but have been repaired. The airport was also looted during the chaos of Assad's fall.

Alaa Sallal, director of public relations at Syria's Civil Aviation Authority, told Reuters a number of airlines had been to inspect security and infrastructure at the airport.

"The airport's construction was dilapidated, the equipment was worn out and some missing," Sallal said.

Radar equipment was lacking, leaving the country reliant on Lebanese or Turkish radar to monitor air traffic, he said.

The head of Syria's General Authority for Civil Aviation earlier this month said it wanted to build new airports in Damascus, Aleppo and in the country's central region. But that will take time and money that the war-ravaged country may struggle to find on its own.

NEW AIRLINES

The mostly Iranian and Iraqi carriers that served Syria through its long conflict have largely stopped flying there, reflecting a new political landscape after Iran- and Russia-backed Assad's overthrow.

The flag carriers of Qatar and Türkiye, countries that backed Syria's rebels through the war, were the first big airlines to resume flights in January under President Ahmed al-Sharaa's new leadership.

Türkiye, a close ally of the new government, has been helping improve Syria's airports, its transport ministry has said.