According to a survey held by UNICEF, families in Lebanon are only just about able to meet their most fundamental requirements despite making significant cuts to their expenditures. Because of the severe socio-economic crisis sweeping the nation, an increasing number of families are being forced to send their children to work; some of these youngsters are as young as six years old. This is being done in a desperate attempt to survive the crisis.
The poll findings present a grim picture of the situation when the crisis continues to worsen for the fourth year in a row, with disastrous repercussions for children.
“The compounding crises that the children of Lebanon are facing are creating an unbearable situation – breaking their spirit, damaging their mental health, and threatening to wipe out their hope for a better future,” said Edouard Beigbeder, who serves as the Representative for UNICEF in Lebanon. “This situation is creating an intolerable situation for the children of Lebanon,” he added.
According to the most recent fast assessment of children’s life conducted by UNICEF, the findings of this research demonstrate that approximately nine out of ten households do not have enough money to purchase essentials, forcing them to turn to extreme methods to cope with the crisis.
The report demonstrates the following:
- Fifteen per cent of households chose not to continue their children’s education, an increase from ten per cent in the previous year. Additionally, fifty-two per cent of households lowered the amount of money they spent on education, an increase of thirty-eight per cent of the prior year’s percentage.
- Compared to last year, three-quarters of households have decreased the amount of money they spend on health treatment.
- The number of homes compelled to sell family possessions has increased from one in five last year to two out of every five households today.
- More than one in ten families have been forced to send children out to work as a way of coping, and the number of families that have been forced to do so for Syrian children rises to more than one in four families.
- Despite these desperate methods of coping, many households cannot afford the quantity and variety of food they require. In addition, they cannot afford the costs of medical treatment.
Significantly, the crisis is also driving increasing period poverty. Just over half of respondents said that women and girls in their households do not have enough female hygiene supplies, such as sanitary pads, and almost all of them said that these things are now too expensive to purchase. This is a significant development.
Many carers have admitted that the hopeless circumstance causes them to suffer from chronic stress, which in turn causes them to resent their children. In the two weeks before the survey was done, six parents out of ten reported having the urge to yell at their children, and two parents out of ten reported needing to hit their children.
The growing tensions, in conjunction with the lack of resources, are devastatingly affecting youngsters’ mental health. Over seven out of ten caregivers said that their charges were anxious, apprehensive, or worried, and over half reported that their heads were sad or feeling depressed at least once each week.
It is much more challenging for families to find a way to survive the crisis because there are holes in the national social safety system and limited access to critical services, including education and health care.
The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) is pushing the government to move quickly to implement the recently developed National Social Protection Strategy (NSPS), which includes plans to offer social grants to those who require them the most, especially vulnerable families raising children. UNICEF, therefore, urges the government to invest in education through reforms and national policies to guarantee that all children, but especially the most vulnerable children, have access to an education that is both inclusive and of high quality.
“Increasing investment in essential services for children, particularly education, health, and social protection, will help mitigate the impact of the crisis, ensure the well-being and survival of future generations, and contribute to economic recovery,” stated Beigbeder. “Increasing investment in essential services for children”
