“When I have cash, I can either buy food for my children or pay for their medicines, but I can’t do both. How can a mother be forced to make such a choice?”
As prices soar and poverty rises, some families in Lebanon face the impossible choice of either feeding their children or getting them the health care, they need.
Naba'a, a mother of two, shakes her head as she describes the desperate decisions she has to make.
“When I have cash, I can either buy food for my children or pay for their medicines, but I can’t do both," says Naba'a, a Syrian refugee in Bhannine, northern Lebanon. "How can a mother be forced to make such a choice?”
Eight years ago, the family was caught in a deadly gas attack in Syria. Her children, who were babies at the time, still suffer from breathing difficulties and aggravated skin conditions.
“I can no longer afford to take my children to the doctor – it’s not only the doctor’s fees but also the cost of transport to get us there. Neither can I afford to buy the creams and the medicines they need. I see them getting sicker in front of my eyes every day."
Naba'a and her family receive food from the International Orthodox Christian Charities (IOCC) – a UNICEF partner – but do not get any cash support. Naba’a says she sometimes sells the food parcels to get a little money “It’s a way to make things go further, and it’s how I’m learning to survive."
In a desperate effort to boost her meagre income, she and her children walk the streets, selling packs of tissues to passing motorists.
“We earn no more than LBP5,000 per day, and it’s not a pleasant experience. My youngest son fainted on the street last week and now doesn’t work in the hottest part of the day. Still, though," Naba’a says as she wipes her eyes, “he works. And that’s another decision no mother should be forced to make."
In Bedawi, Tripoli, Adnan, 55, and Samira, 54, are in a similar situation. The proud parents of eight children, they say they had always wanted a big family. But now they barely get by, even with only two boys still living with them.
“We hadn’t bargained for a life like this when we got married nearly 40 years ago," says Adnan.
The family fled their Idlib home in 2015 to escape the atrocities of Syria’s civil war, arriving in Lebanon with only the clothes on their backs. “We built a new life," says Samira.
Three months ago, their home was consumed by fire and, once again, they lost all their possessions. “We’re going to have to try to rebuild our lives once more, but this time it may prove an impossible task."
Adnan is no longer able to earn enough to cover all his family’s expenses. “I work at a vegetable market every day to make just LBP15,000 (a little over US$1 at the black-market exchange rate in 2021 first quarter).
The family receive LBP500,000 cash assistance, but haven’t paid their monthly rent of LBP 400,000 for a while. "We have to make many hard decisions these days,", Adnan says, shaking his head.
UNICEF IN ACTION
UNICEF partner War Child Holland has been supporting Samira and Adnan's youngest son, Walid, 12, who has Down’s Syndrome. Walid is currently enrolled in a basic literacy and numeracy (BLN) programme run by the NGO.
Lebanon has the world's highest per capita number of refugees, hosting 1.5 million people who fled the conflict in Syrian. UNICEF supports both refugees and the host communities, notably providing WASH (water, sanitation and hygiene), education and child protection support. UNICEF is also enhancing its social protection programme by creating a child grant for 70,000 children and working with ILO and national authorities to strengthen the national social protection system.
As prices soar and poverty rises, some families in Lebanon face the impossible choice of either feeding their children or getting them the health care they need.
“When I have cash, I can either buy food for my children or pay for their medicines, but I can’t do both," says Naba'a.. "How can a mother be forced to make such a choice?”
UNICEF supports the Syrian communities through a UN joint cash assistance programme, as well as
through its own Syrian crisis programme, contributing to children’s access to education, health, child protection and WASH (water, sanitation and hygiene) services.
To respond to the increasing needs as revealed in the assessment, UNICEF is enhancing its social protection, education, child survival, child protection and youth development programmes to reach more children and young people facing the impacts of this compounded crisis.
Refugees from Syria, her husband is no longer able to earn enough to cover all his family’s expenses. "We have to make many hard decisions these days”.
UNICEF partner War Child Holland has been supporting Walid. Walid is currently enrolled in a basic literacy and numeracy (BLN) programme run by the NGO.
His family fled their Idlib home in 2015 to escape the atrocities of Syria’s civil war, arriving in Lebanon with only the clothes on their backs. “To build a new life," says mother, Samira.
Now unable to pay their monthly rent, "We have to make many hard decisions these days,", his father Adnan says, shaking his head.
UNICEF partner War Child Holland has been supporting Walid. Walid is currently enrolled in a basic literacy and numeracy (BLN) programme run by the NGO.
