1 Million People in Lebanon Face Acute Food Shortages, UN Says

More than one million people in Lebanon — nearly a quarter of the country's population — face acute food shortages, according to a joint statement from the UN's Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the World Food Programme (WFP) and Lebanon's Ministry of Agriculture published Wednesday and reported by Al Jazeera. The agencies project that figure will rise to 1.15 million by the middle of next year without what they call "urgent action."

How many people are affected, and how fast is the number growing?

The current estimate — more than one million people, or roughly a quarter of Lebanon's population — covers households the UN classifies as facing "acute food insecurity," meaning they cannot reliably access enough food to meet basic daily needs. The joint statement projects that total will climb to 1.15 million by mid-2027, a trajectory the agencies attribute to compounding economic and security pressure rather than a single shock.

What is driving the shortage?

"Employment opportunities remain limited, savings have been depleted, and debt remains high, while the cost of food, fuel and other essentials continues to strain household budgets," the joint FAO-WFP-Ministry of Agriculture statement said. Allison Oman Lawi, WFP's representative and country director in Lebanon, framed the risk in terms of household resilience: "Some households can still draw on savings, borrow, cut expenses or find other ways to put food on the table. For others, those options are being exhausted. When families have nothing left to fall back on, even a small additional shock can push them deeper into crisis."

"When families have nothing left to fall back on, even a small additional shock can push them deeper into crisis." — Allison Oman Lawi, WFP country director, Lebanon

How much have the wars with Israel cost Lebanon?

Lebanese authorities estimate the combined cost of two wars between Israel and Hezbollah since October 2023 at roughly $27 billion, according to Al Jazeera's reporting. The most recent war, launched in March, displaced more than one million people inside Lebanon at its peak. That displacement figure has fallen to about 300,000 since violence eased in June, but it has not returned to pre-war levels.

A US-brokered framework deal signed in June between Israel and Lebanon's government was intended to end the fighting, with Israeli forces withdrawing and the Lebanese army taking up positions in vacated territory. Israel continues to occupy land inside Lebanon despite the agreement, and Hezbollah — which was not a party to the deal — has not been disarmed as called for under its terms.

What happens if the 1.15 million forecast holds?

A rise from roughly 1 million to 1.15 million food-insecure people over roughly seven months would push the share of Lebanon's population in that category meaningfully past the current "nearly a quarter" mark. The agencies did not attach a dollar figure or funding target to the projection in the joint statement as reported, but tied the trend directly to depleted savings and high household debt rather than a new acute shock — meaning any additional disruption, security-related or economic, could accelerate the climb.

By the numbers

• 1 million+ — people in Lebanon currently facing acute food insecurity, per the FAO-WFP-Ministry of Agriculture joint statement
• 1.15 million — projected food-insecure population by mid-2027 absent intervention
• $27 billion — Lebanese government estimate of the combined cost of two wars with Israel since October 2023
• 300,000 — people still displaced inside Lebanon as of the report, down from more than 1 million at the peak of the March war

Who is responsible for responding, and what comes next?

Lebanon's Agriculture Minister Nizar Hani said the findings "call for a coordinated national response that addresses urgent food needs while protecting livelihoods and restoring productive capacity." The crisis lands on top of an economic collapse that began in 2019 and predates both wars; Beirut has been seeking a bailout from the International Monetary Fund but, per Al Jazeera, has yet to implement the reforms the IMF has demanded as a condition of financing. No dollar amount for a response package was specified in the joint statement as reported.

The UN agencies did not set a deadline for the "urgent action" they called for, and the statement stopped short of naming specific donors or funding gaps. The next formal checkpoint will likely be whatever updated food-security assessment FAO and WFP issue ahead of the mid-2027 projection window.