UNICEF conducted a rapid assessment of the standard of living of children in Lebanon, considering that the scene is dramatic, especially in terms of the desperate measures taken by families to deal with the social and economic crisis in Lebanon.
She noted that as the crisis continues to worsen in Lebanon for the fourth year in a row, families are working hard to provide for their basic needs, often being forced to send their children to work to help cover expenses.
UNICEF pointed out that 9 out of 10 families, or about 86% of the families included in the assessment, admitted that they currently do not have enough money to buy necessities, compared to 76% just one year ago. Also, 75% of families reduced their spending. On treatment, compared to 60 percent in June 2022, and 15 percent of families stopped their children’s education.
The economist, Muhammad Musa, pointed out that “the UNICEF report wrenches the heart and makes people feel pain in front of these words issued by a prestigious international institution. We read with sadness these words, but unfortunately this is the reality of the situation. We heard about the behavior of education, and we heard how 52% of families did not It is spent on the educational sector, which is the main investment in Lebanon throughout history. We have heard about 75% who have shied away from treatment costs, and therefore all the indicators of the report point to the reality of an unfortunately dire situation.
Social security in Lebanon is in danger, especially at the hospital level and at the educational level, and both matters are very dangerous to continue in such a country.
He explained, “We are facing continuous reports from the October Revolution of 2019 until now, through the parliamentary elections and what they resulted. Unfortunately, the political reality does not change, nor does the economic, monetary, or psychological reality change. Unfortunately, we go, as we say, from hell to hell.”
There is no doubt that when students drop out of science, we are facing projects of ignorance that only generates calamities, foremost of which is terrorism. When we do not have an educated generation that is fortified with knowledge, what will be behind this generation? More poverty, destitution, crime and more terrorism.
Moussa considered that “the international community and the rich countries that were meeting in Paris are invited to provide, as the World Bank said, to support these countries with maximum capabilities, and therefore when we talk about school dropouts and the return of children to work, should that not prompt the rich countries to take action? Doesn’t that prompt the United Nations and UNICEF, which It made its decision written down and everyone knows about it, what did the European Commission do, what did the United Nations do, here is the big question what did the rich countries do, and therefore yes, quite simply, you know you are raising a generation from a monster called ignorance and terrorism, you do not know you are increasing the terrorist and the ignorant in this society It increases crime in this community.”
There is no doubt on the Lebanese level that the multidimensional crisis is in its political part through the election of a capable and reformist president, who has a vision, acceptable to the Lebanese, who has acceptance both at home and abroad, in addition to a capable and effective government, not as a caretaker government.
And he added: “Thus, this government will have exceptional legislative powers for one time, accompanied by a legislative workshop in the parliament to pass a number of laws, not least the capital control and the banking secret recovery plan and its amendment, structuring banks, and structuring the banking sector as a whole. An agreement with the IMF is not due to the importance of the three billion, but rather to the importance of openness to create confidence that the government has high transparency and credibility.
On the economic level, Moussa stressed that “basic economic steps must be taken in which they cooperate and multiply efforts within the framework of a real recovery plan that includes the state, banks, economic sectors and depositors, and on the social level, creating a real social safety net that guarantees all those whom the ESCWA report spoke of from And UNICEF today, and therefore a real social safety net must be established within a real international umbrella that includes Lebanon with an eye of adequate care.
