Children Skipping Meals in Majority of Families in Lebanon, UNICEF Says

A child peeks from behind a corner of a building in Beirut's Karantina district, Lebanon November 22, 2021. REUTERS/Mohamed Azakir
A child peeks from behind a corner of a building in Beirut's Karantina district, Lebanon November 22, 2021. REUTERS/Mohamed Azakir
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Children Skipping Meals in Majority of Families in Lebanon, UNICEF Says

A child peeks from behind a corner of a building in Beirut's Karantina district, Lebanon November 22, 2021. REUTERS/Mohamed Azakir
A child peeks from behind a corner of a building in Beirut's Karantina district, Lebanon November 22, 2021. REUTERS/Mohamed Azakir

More than half of families in Lebanon had at least one child who skipped a meal by October 2021 amid a "dramatic deterioration of living conditions", the UN's children's fund said in a report released on Tuesday.

Children have been hit hard by the country's deep economic crisis exacerbated by the global coronavirus pandemic which has left about eight in 10 people poor and threatens the education of some 700,000 children including 260,000 Lebanese, the report said.

The multifaceted crisis, rooted in decades of corruption and mismanagement, has led to a breakdown in the provision of basic services such as electricity and water, Reuters said.

Nearly half of households had insufficient drinking water by October 2021, the report said, with a third of them citing cost as the main factor.

"The staggering magnitude of the crisis must be a wake-up call," said Yukie Mokuo, UNICEF representative in Lebanon.

The report noted that less than three in 10 families had received social assistance, leading them to take "desperate measures".

The proportion of Lebanese families sending children to work increased sevenfold to seven percent between April and October, the report said.

Prime Minister Najib Mikati's government has been slow to implement social safety programs including a $246 million World bank-funded one adopted by parliament in March and a $556 million ration card scheme backed by the legislature in June.

"Urgent action is needed to ensure no child goes hungry, becomes sick or has to work instead of receiving an education," Mokuo said.



Emirates Airline to Resume Flights to Beirut

Emirates Airline Boeing 777-300ER planes are seen at Dubai International Airport in the United Arab Emirates February 15, 2019. REUTERS/Christopher Pike/File Photo
Emirates Airline Boeing 777-300ER planes are seen at Dubai International Airport in the United Arab Emirates February 15, 2019. REUTERS/Christopher Pike/File Photo
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Emirates Airline to Resume Flights to Beirut

Emirates Airline Boeing 777-300ER planes are seen at Dubai International Airport in the United Arab Emirates February 15, 2019. REUTERS/Christopher Pike/File Photo
Emirates Airline Boeing 777-300ER planes are seen at Dubai International Airport in the United Arab Emirates February 15, 2019. REUTERS/Christopher Pike/File Photo

Emirates airline will resume flights to Beirut on February 1 after a four-month suspension triggered by conflict between Israel and Hezbollah, a statement said on Friday.

The Middle East's biggest airline will first offer a daily return flight and scale up to two services per day from April 1, AFP quoted the statement as saying.

Emirates will also resume a daily flight to the Iraqi capital, Baghdad, from February 1, it added.

The Dubai-based, state-owned carrier was one of several regional airlines to suspend Beirut services in late September as tensions soared between Israel and Hezbollah.

A truce came into effect on November 27, ending over a year of hostilities.