Toronto, April 29, 2026 – Nearly one fifth of children in Lebanon – about 380,00 children – are expected to face crisis‑level hunger or worse between April and August 2026, according to Save the Children analysis of new data from the world’s leading expert on hunger crises.
The Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) projected that a quarter of the population of Lebanon – 1.24 million people – will face crisis‑level food insecurity or worse in coming months with a significant deterioration in conditions since hostilities escalated in March.
The latest analysis shows that another 366,000 additional people, including 113,000 more children, have been pushed into crisis‑level hunger due to the conflict, which has displaced over one million people, disrupted livelihoods and supply chains, and driven food prices out of reach for many families.
Save the children is responding on the ground by distributing ready-to-eat parcels that include canned food such as beans, vegetables and fish.
Save the Children is calling on the international community to urgently work toward a permanent and definitive ceasefire and an increase in flexible and sustainable funding to meet children and families’ basic needs and support recovery efforts.
Nora Ingdal, Save the Children’s Lebanon Country Director, said:
“The findings of this report are incredibly worrying. Children in Lebanon are being pushed deeper into hunger by renewed conflict and mass displacement. Families who were already struggling are now finding food completely out of reach, with prices soaring and livelihoods disrupted. This is a devastating reality for children whose health, development and survival are all at risk.
“We have seen this play out in Gaza, and we cannot allow the same horrors to be repeated in Lebanon. Children have been through enough. Without a permanent ceasefire and urgent action to scale up humanitarian assistance, children will continue to pay the highest price for a crisis they did not create.”
ENDS
Sources
- The current population of Lebanon is 5.8 million according to the UN’s World Population Prospects.
- Children under 18 make up 31% of the population, according to the same UN source above, so about 1.8 million children
Calculations based off 31% child population in Lebanon.
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