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 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.
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".
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 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 programmes
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.
(Reporting by Timour Azhari, Editing by Ed
Osmond)
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