Nine of ten Syrian refugee families in Lebanon are living in extreme poverty, a United Nations (UN) report published said. The report warned nearly 89 percent will be struggling to fulfill their most basic needs by the end of the year, up from 55 percent in 2019. The UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), the World Food Programme, and the Children's Fund (Unicef) blamed Lebanon's economic crisis, currency collapse, the coronavirus pandemic, and Beirut blast for the rapid downturn. Lebanon plays host to an estimated 1.5 million Syrians, amounting to a quarter of the country's entire population. However, the country is grappling with its worst economic crisis since the end of the civil war in 1990, with rising unemployment, soaring inflation, and a collapsing currency.
