Key Developments

Nearly 2 million Lebanese residents and Syrian refugees, or approximately 37 percent of the resident population required emergency food assistance to meet basic needs between September and December 2022.

As of December 20, 2022, Lebanon's currency had depreciated to a record low, driving an increase in humanitarian needs among vulnerable populations.

In November 2022, Lebanon's Ministry of Public Health and the UN World Health Organization (WHO) initiated a nationwide cholera vaccine campaign in response to an outbreak of the disease declared the previous month.

Background

Lebanon has experienced several large socioeconomic shocks due to overlapping crises in late 2019 and 2020, including ongoing political instability, the steep deterioration of the economy, and the emergence of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19).  Hyperinflation, the depreciation of the Lebanese lira, lack of livelihood opportunities, and rising prices has diminished the purchasing power of many Lebanese households, increasing vulnerabilities.  Meanwhile, COVID-19 has strained health care system capacity and contributed to deteriorating socioeconomic conditions in the country.  In November 2019, the World Bank estimated that the combined impacts of soaring inflation and the rapid rise in the price of many basic goods could push more than 50 percent of the Lebanese population below the poverty line during 2020, an increase of approximately 20 percent compared to 2018 estimates.