UNICEF warns that the serious crisis in Lebanon puts thousands of children in front of a daunting horizon

MADRID, 26 Ago. (EUROPA PRESS) -

The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) has warned that the unprecedented crisis that has plagued Lebanon for three years "has shattered" the dreams and the future of thousands of children and young people who see immigration as the only way out at risk their family ties

In its report 'Dispossessed childhoods: child poverty in Lebanon ravaged by the crisis', UNCEF has warned that the devastating crisis that has been going on in the country of the cedars for three years has affected all aspects of life of the most little ones.

"Children grow up without enough food, without adequate access to health care and, in some cases, working to support their families," said Edouard Beigbeder, UNICEF representative in Lebanon.

"Critical reforms are needed to safeguard the future of these children. The Government must implement urgent social protection measures, guarantee access to quality education for all of them, and strengthen primary health care and child protection services," he said. reclaimed.

One of the conclusions offered by this report reveals that minors and young people are increasingly aware of the difficulties their families are going through, which is why, once they have given up, they opt to leave Lebanon as the only way to achieve a better future.

The combination of deprivations, the loss of hope and trust in those who should provide them with what is necessary for a decent life, is causing an increase in tensions in the family nucleus, affecting the mental health of some minors, who also do not have the possibility of being able to access treatments for this type of ailment.

"These tensions, further fueled by polarization between and within communities, have led to an increase in violence, including in homes and schools," UNICEF has highlighted, warning that "many streets and neighborhoods already are not safe, which further limits children's right to play".

84 percent of households do not have enough money to cover their needs, while 38 percent of these family nuclei have had to reduce spending on education. A figure that reaches 60 percent in those who have had to cut back on medical treatments.

70 percent of households have to borrow money to buy food and 36 percent of guardians feel less tolerant of their children and treat them more harshly.

"Child poverty at all levels requires a multidimensional response," says Beigbeder, for whom it is necessary to strengthen Lebanon's social protection system so that the fundamental rights of the smallest can be guaranteed.