A report published by UNICEF on Monday on child nutrition in the Middle East and North Africa between 2021 and 2023 reveals that children living in Lebanon are victims of either malnutrition or a diet poor in nutrients that leads some to be overweight. Trends aggravated by the economic crisis that has been raging in the country since 2019.

UNICEF reports that malnutrition is generally decreasing among children in Lebanon, but remains high among Syrian refugee children, 17 percent of whom were malnourished in 2013, compared to 25 percent in 2021. In addition, obesity among some young people aged 5 to 19 is reportedly increasing due to inadequate and unhealthy diets, the report explains, without giving further details.

"Due in part to the economic crisis in Lebanon ... household food insecurity has increased and the nutrition of children under 5 has worsened," the text states, without providing specific figures on this trend. The report also explains that the stress experienced by pregnant women in Lebanon, due to the crisis the country has been going through since 2019, could lead to the birth of underweight babies.

“The current economic downturn in Lebanon could exacerbate already precarious levels of household food security, as food prices continue to rise while unemployment worsens. National stakeholders have reported that prices of nutritious foods have increased by 10 to 15 times compared to previous prices, leading many mothers to reduce their own food intake to ensure their children do not go hungry,” UNICEF continued.

The rising prices of nutritious foods are also affecting the diets of children and adolescents in Lebanon, who, according to the text, are turning to junk food. According to UNICEF, more than 30 percent of boys and girls in this age group were obese in 2015 and obesity among young people aged 5 to 19 is said to be increasing recently. "In Lebanon, the diets of young people are characterized by a low intake of micronutrients and a high consumption of sugars and fats through a wide variety of sweets, sugary drinks and cereals," the text continues.

According to UNICEF, 55 million children in 20 countries in the region, including Lebanon, are overweight or obese, and an additional 24 million children suffer from “undernutrition, including stunting, wasting and thinness.” “The worsening malnutrition crisis in the region is due to the nature and manner in which children are fed, lack of access to nutritious foods, clean water, health care and other essential services, and the proliferation of cheap, unhealthy foods ... high in salt, sugar and fat,” the fund added.

Added to this is a context of "permanent conflicts, political instability, climatic shocks and rising food prices which, together, deprive children of their right to nutritious food and limit access to humanitarian aid to vulnerable populations."

One in three children suffers from malnutrition

At the regional level, the UNICEF report warns of a "deepening crisis" amid conflict and climate change. "At least 77 million children, or one in three, in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) suffer from some form of malnutrition," the U.N. Children's Fund said in a statement.

“Only a third of children receive nutritious food,” said UNICEF Regional Director for the MENA region, Adele Khodr. Calling this proportion “shocking in 2024,” she said it “is likely to get even worse as conflict, crises and other challenges continue” in the region.

According to a report released in July by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and other UN agencies, 733 million people will suffer from hunger in 2023, or 9 percent of the world's population.

Around 2.3 billion people are also considered to be moderately or severely food insecure, meaning they occasionally have to skip a meal. And more than a third of the world's population cannot afford a healthy diet, including 72 percent of people in the poorest countries.

This article originally appeared in French in L'Orient-Le Jour.