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Beirut – Nine out of ten Syrian refugee families live in extreme poverty in Lebanon due to the accelerating economic collapse it has witnessed for a year, according to a study released yesterday by the United Nations.
Lebanon estimates that there are 1.5 million Syrian refugees on its soil, of which around one million are registered with UNHCR. They live in difficult humanitarian conditions, exacerbated by the economic crisis, which deepened with the outbreak of the new Corona virus and then with the explosion of the port of Beirut.
The results of a study conducted by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, the World Food Program and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) showed that “the economic recession, severe inflation, the outbreak of the Covid-19 epidemic and eventually the explosion in Beirut have pushed vulnerable communities in Lebanon, including Syrian refugees, to the brink. ” .
The study showed that the percentage of Syrian refugee families “living below the extreme poverty line” reached 89 percent in 2020, compared to 55 percent last year.
These families live on less than 308,728 Lebanese pounds per person per month, which is equivalent to $ 205 at the official exchange rate and about $ 38 at the black market rate.
The organizations stated in a statement that “nine out of ten Syrian refugee families in Lebanon currently live in extreme poverty.”
“The situation of Syrian refugees in Lebanon has been deteriorating for years,” said the representative of the High Commissioner for Refugees in Lebanon, Mireille Girard.
He added that the refugees today face “the most difficult winter for them to date in Lebanon, with scarce resources that are not enough for them to enjoy warmth and safety.”
And the accumulated debt on refugees in Lebanon increased by 18 percent, according to the study that indicated that “the main reason to borrow is to buy food.”
In light of the economic collapse, more than half of Lebanon’s population lives below the poverty line, with tens of thousands of people losing their jobs or sources of income and their purchasing power, as the exchange rate deteriorates. the lira and rising food prices.
According to the United Nations, the prices of food products in Lebanon have increased “almost three times since October 2019”, that is, an increase of around 174 percent.
Half of Syrian families surveyed are food insecure, up from 28 percent in 2019. The number of families dependent on insufficient food systems has also doubled from 25 percent in 2019 to 49 percent in 2020.
The study showed that these families resort to various methods of adjustment, including marrying children early, taking them out of school or sending them to work.
