Lebanon Faces Fragile Food Insecurity Entering New Year

As Lebanon enters the new year, food insecurity remains widespread and fragile despite signs of modest easing under current conditions. A new Integrated Food Security Phase Classification analysis covering November 2025 to July 2026 shows that around 874,000 people, representing about 17 percent of the population analysed, are facing crisis or emergency levels of acute food insecurity. While this reflects a degree of stabilisation compared to earlier periods, it does not signal a sustained recovery, as many households remain close to critical thresholds and highly vulnerable to sudden economic, political, or security shocks. The analysis, produced by the Ministry of Agriculture in collaboration with the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations and the World Food Programme, highlights that food insecurity continues to affect certain districts and population groups more severely. Parts of Baalbek and El Hermel, Akkar, Baabda, Zahle, Saida, Bent Jbeil, Marjayoun, El Nabatieh, and Tyre remain under persistent pressure, alongside refugee communities. For the first time, the assessment also includes people arriving from Syria after December 2024, reflecting evolving displacement patterns and the growing complexity of vulnerabilities linked to conflict, limited livelihood recovery, and constrained access to essential services. Looking ahead, projections for April to July 2026 indicate a likely deterioration, with the number of people facing acute food insecurity expected to rise to about 961,000, or 18 percent of the population analysed. This increase is largely driven by anticipated reductions in humanitarian food assistance, combined with ongoing economic strain, high living costs, slow livelihood recovery, continued displacement, and delays in reconstructing damaged infrastructure. The report also underscores the slow and uneven recovery of agricultural livelihoods across the country. Damage to irrigation systems, roads, and storage facilities, rising input costs, and recurring drought have continued to limit production, particularly in the Bekaa and southern regions. These challenges were compounded by an exceptionally dry 2024–2025 season, which further reduced water availability for key crops and weakened the resilience of farming households. Lebanese authorities and international partners stress that the findings demonstrate both the scale of remaining challenges and the urgency of coordinated action. While some positive indicators have emerged over the past year, food security remains highly sensitive to changes in the economic and security environment. Sustained humanitarian assistance, predictable support for vulnerable households, and strategic investment in agriculture are seen as essential to prevent further deterioration and to support a gradual transition from reliance on aid toward more stable and resilient food systems. More than a year after the November 2024 ceasefire, the analysis reinforces that Lebanon’s food security situation remains precarious. Continued economic fragility, delayed reconstruction, ongoing displacement pressures, and shrinking humanitarian resources are likely to shape vulnerabilities into 2026, underscoring the need for close monitoring and sustained, coordinated efforts to protect the most vulnerable populations across the country.