In 2024, Lebanon's ongoing socioeconomic and political crisis has deepened, compounded by a prolonged presidential vacuum and escalating conflicts along its southern borders since October 2023. The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) highlighted these challenges in its mid-year report, detailing the severe impact on vulnerable populations across the country.

The conflict in southern Lebanon has displaced over 97,000 people, further exacerbating household vulnerabilities. The country’s economic hardships, widespread job losses, reductions in humanitarian assistance, and political instability have intensified tensions between host communities and refugees. According to the World Bank, poverty in Lebanon has more than tripled over the past decade, affecting 44 percent of the population.

Despite a slight easing in inflation, with the yearly rate dropping from 123.21 percent in February 2024 to 70.4 percent in March, food insecurity remains a growing concern. The decline in humanitarian assistance to Lebanese citizens and Syrian, and Palestinian refugees is projected to worsen food insecurity throughout 2024. The updated Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) analysis for Lebanon estimates that the percentage of the population experiencing acute food insecurity will rise from 19 percent in early 2024 to 23 percent by September.

Due to funding constraints, the WFP has had to reduce its assistance, cutting the number of people it supports by 39 percent compared to 2023. Despite this, in the first half of 2024, WFP provided aid to over 800,000 refugees and 600,000 Lebanese nationals to help them meet their basic needs. Additionally, WFP delivered cash transfers to 400,000 Lebanese individuals through the Government’s Emergency Social Safety Net.

In response to the southern conflict, WFP extended emergency assistance to around 204,000 people, collaborating closely with the Lebanese government, UNHCR, UNICEF, and other humanitarian partners. This assistance included several rounds of cash and in-kind food aid, as well as the provision of monthly in-school snacks to students in 14 additional schools.

WFP has also played a crucial role in strengthening national institutions and providing technical and financial support to build resilient government and food systems. Notably, WFP has supported the Ministry of Social Affairs in enhancing its capabilities to design and operate unified Social Safety Nets.

It has also aided the Ministry of Economy and Trade in establishing a market price information system, and the Ministry of Public Health in completing Lebanon's first Integrated Micronutrient Survey (LIMA), which will inform future national food fortification strategies. Additionally, WFP assisted the Ministry of Agriculture in setting up a "Food Security Analysis" Unit and developing food security monitoring systems.

Since January 2024, WFP has been forced to reduce in-kind food assistance to Lebanese individuals by 50 percent, from 283,000 people in 2023 to 146,000 by June 2024. In March, a new food parcel composition was introduced, providing around 60 percent of the total individual energy requirement while reducing supply chain costs by 25 percent.

WFP’s school feeding program, which benefited 96,000 students in the first half of 2024, has been expanded to include 14 more schools affected by the southern conflict. These students receive school snacks and cold meals prepared by women volunteers working in nine school kitchens.

The program is also being linked to WFP’s livelihoods resilience initiative, sourcing high-quality fruits and vegetables from small businesses supported under the WFP Food System Challenge.

In a pilot project, WFP has integrated school meals into nine private free schools under UNICEF’s Dirasa program, which aims to bring out-of-school children, including those with disabilities, back into classrooms.