Food, school, healthcare: UNICEF warns Lebanon’s children are losing the basics

A childhood should leave room for lessons, friendships and plans for the future. In Lebanon, a new UNICEF assessment describes families struggling to cover much more immediate needs, including food, healthcare and school costs.

In a September 30 announcement, the UN children’s agency said four in five households were struggling to afford basic necessities as conflict deepened the effects of a long economic crisis.

What the household figures show

According to UNICEF’s statement, 22 percent of surveyed households reported that their children had gone to bed hungry during the previous two weeks. Another 31 percent said children had missed needed healthcare, mainly because it was unaffordable.

Fourteen percent reported at least one child working, more than double the share recorded in January 2025. On education, 46 percent reported cutting spending, while 17 percent said their children had stopped attending school.

These are household survey findings. The 22 percent figure does not mean researchers counted every child in Lebanon and found exactly that share going hungry. Keeping the measure clear helps readers understand what the evidence actually says.

A crisis that reaches beyond the classroom

The report, An Enduring Nightmare, describes overlapping pressures from military hostilities and economic hardship. Its overview points to damage to homes, schools and health centres, alongside the psychological effects on children and young people.

A damaged building is a visible loss. The less visible question is what happens to a child’s routine when places associated with safety become frightening or unavailable.

Being enrolled in school and being able to learn are also different things. A classroom place cannot, on its own, resolve hunger, insecurity or the stress a family carries with it.

Returning home remains uncertain

UN News reported that nearly 330,000 people remained displaced after more than a million had been forced from their homes during the escalation. It cited continuing attacks and destruction in southern Lebanon.

The report also referenced the UN aid coordination office’s warnings about restricted humanitarian access and conditions that prevented safe, lasting returns. These pressures continued despite the April 17 ceasefire agreement.

For a displaced family, the end of an emergency cannot be measured only by an announcement. A return also needs a safe place to live and services that make daily life possible.

The figures here come from UNICEF and UN reporting. They describe a humanitarian assessment, rather than a separate count carried out by this publication.

The practical challenge is connected: helping children means restoring the conditions that allow them to eat, receive care and keep learning. Treating each need as a separate problem risks missing how one setback can make the next harder.