NGOs support 23% of families

The “progressive poverty” to which Lebanon has grown accustomed throughout the post-war years, as a result of declining purchasing power among marginalized groups and, mainly, high unemployment rates, turns into a wave overwhelming that plunges families into poverty and hunger and changes their behavior and traditions regarding food and support for their children. Half of the workforce of Lebanese residents is unemployed and an increasing number of them are turning to help, so a quarter of families have become dependent on NGOs primarily to meet their needs.

Foreign aid funds have been present in Lebanon since the entity’s inception, and the problems related to the political role of some of them are not hidden from anyone, whether they are distributed through local agencies sponsored by the regime. or through the arms of international organizations. However, the crisis, which has been worsening for more than a year without prospects for local treatment, increases its importance and causes 23% of families to adopt it as a primary source of income, according to a survey carried out by the Program of United Nations Food in collaboration with the World Bank Group, which included 2,335 Lebanese families residing between July and August 2020..
With the drop in purchasing power due to the collapse of the lira and the inflation rate reaching the 200% threshold, families are dependent on more than one source of income. Salaries are basic for 58% of those included in the surveyed sample, followed directly by help from NGOs, and those from government programs, followed by non-farm business and investments, and then remittances from expatriates.

This Lebanese income pyramid is subject to further distortion in the next stage. The average income is currently 900 thousand pounds, equivalent to 112 dollars in the best exchange market available to residents. In the absence of a clear vision on how the country works and unemployment reaches 50%, dependency on aid will increase, along with questions about the role of non-governmental organizations and the standards of sovereignty and independence. But what is the meaning of sovereignty in the absence of human sustenance and dignity in the daily life of families as a result of the corruption of the political class?
Finally, the Elysee organized a mini-conference, in coordination with the United Nations, to raise funds for Lebanon and distribute them through non-governmental organizations to avoid Lebanese state channels ravaged by corruption and where patronage is prevalent. The French media promoted this initiative and a look at the Lebanese channel of shame and disgrace; “Isn’t the state of this situation ashamed?” Some asked. The truth is that shyness, as incalculable as it may be in politics, is the latest standard adopted to govern a country based on a coalition of sects. This coalition helped generate a crisis that is the worst compared to selected previous global crises, according to a special indicator prepared by the World Bank’s economic team and recently published in the framework of the Lebanon Economic Monitor.
The bank’s experts conclude that in light of the weak macroeconomic fundamentals in Lebanon since before the crisis, “the adjustment process is expected to be more difficult and longer, even with the availability of ideal policy measures.” They explain that despite the passage of a full year since the economic crisis “these policies have not yet been defined, much less their implementation, which delays the exit from the economic crisis and the reactivation of the economy again. Consequently, as is now the case, the economic crisis hitting Lebanon is likely to be more dangerous and longer than most economic crises.
In practice, with an economic contraction of around 20% this year and continued fluctuation in the foreign exchange market, the poverty rate will increase to more than half the population in 2021, according to the same research, and residents will find themselves affected by various channels, from the loss of productive employment to the suspension of remittances due to the fall of power. Real shopping.
This brings us back to the survey results according to which a growing number of families, reaching 87%, are resorting to adopting a food consumption management strategy to cope with the crisis. And more than half reduce a family member’s ration when food is not fully available. A little less (46%) equates to a reduction in the participation of adults in favor of children.
According to the adaptation strategy index prepared by the researchers, which reflects the aforementioned behaviors, the most affected provinces are Akkar, Baalbek-Hermel and Nabatiyeh. The suffering added to the difficulties in obtaining medication and hospital services. All this pushes people to depend more on aid, either from organizations or from the state itself. When a person is hungry, he turns to his executioners if rebellion is not possible.

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