BEIRUT, 14 April 2022 – Half of Lebanese children – or about 700,000 - are now in need of humanitarian aid, with thousands at risk of malnutrition as the war in Ukraine threatens to further exacerbate a national food crisis, Save the Children warned after the release of new data.  

New UN figures released today showed that more than 2 million Lebanese people – about 57% of the population – are now living in vulnerable situations with three in every four households – or 77%[1] - not having enough money to buy food. 

This is in addition to the 1.8 million refugees and migrants living in Lebanon, including 700,000 Syrian refugee children already facing dire conditions. About 99% of Syrian households[1] do not have enough money to buy food. 

The conflict in Ukraine has deepened a food crisis in Lebanon that was triggered in autumn 2019 as the country sank into one of the world’s worst financial crises in modern history[2].    

The cost of food has surged 396% in one year with prices rising further since the war started on 24 February as 95% of Lebanon’s wheat is imported from Russia and Ukraine. The cost of bread has risen by 38% in the past six weeks. The price of sunflower oil and sugar has jumped by 88% and 72% respectively[3].