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WFP Lebanon Situation Report – May 2022

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WFP
Дата публикации

IN NUMBERS

3,563,300 people in need of assistance

1,694,500 people assisted in May 2022

USD 28m cash-based transfers made

3,124 MT of food distributed

SITUATION UPDATE

• Inflation in Lebanon continued to rise throughout May, driven by sharp currency fluctuations throughout May, with the dollar reaching a record-high of LBP 38,000/USD, coupled with the rise in international food and fuel prices. Between April and May, the cost of the food Survival Minimum Expenditure Basket (SMEB) monitored by WFP increased by 14 percent, reaching more than LBP 790,000 per person. Inflation continues to negatively impact people’s ability to afford food and other basic needs, including for WFP beneficiaries. Despite the increase in transfer values of cash assistance in April 2022, assistance only covers about 60 percent of the food SMEB.

• The 2022 parliamentary elections took place on 15 May, the first since the start of the economic crisis in 2019 and the 2020 Beirut port explosion. Despite elections, slow progress on the political level and particularly on the implementation of reforms continues to delay prospects for economic recovery in the short term.

• Importers are facing difficulties bringing in wheat due to hard currency shortages at the Central Bank, and multiple millers and bakeries across the country have reportedly halted operations, with conflicting estimates of the amount of wheat stocks left in the country. Wheat remains one of the last subsidized commodities with the price of bread, the main staple and most accessible source of calories, fixed by the Ministry of Economy and Trade.