Al Jazeera English published this video item, entitled “Can Lebanon be saved? | The Stream” – below is their description.
Hunger has taken hold across Lebanon. Reeling from economic collapse, the coronavirus pandemic and skyrocketing inflation, millions of people are struggling to put food on the table this month, let alone commemorate Ramadan. For most, the usual festive sights, smells and sounds of the occasion have become distant memories.
According to the World Bank, half of Lebanon’s six million people now live in poverty. Food prices have soared up to 400 percent, which the United Nations calls the highest food inflation in the world.
The government has been unable to respond effectively since its prime minister resigned last year, following a massive port explosion in the capital.
Lebanon imports most of its food, but a cash crunch and the fallout of the blast have made it difficult to buy what people need. Unless the financial and political situation stabilises, the country could only have a couple months of supplies left, warn some supermarket traders.
The situation has become so dire that the UN has added Lebanon to its list of countries at risk of “catastrophic famine,” alongside Yemen, Afghanistan, Syria and other “hunger hotspots.”
In this episode of The Stream we ask, can Lebanon be saved?
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