The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) has warned of a severe water shortage in the coming days in Lebanon, which will exacerbate the acute crises afflicting the country.
“Unless urgent action is taken, more than four million people across Lebanon, mostly children and the most vulnerable families, will face severe water shortages or total water cuts in the coming days,” UNICEF said in a statement, Saturday.
Last month, UNICEF warned that more than 71% of Lebanon’s population may not have access to water this summer.
Since then, this precarious situation has persisted, with essential services including water and sanitation, power grids and healthcare under enormous pressure.
“Vital facilities such as hospitals and health centers are now deprived of potable water due to the lack of electricity, which puts lives at risk,” it added.
UNICEF also noted, “If four million people are forced to resort to unsafe and expensive sources of water, health and hygiene will be at risk.
Lebanon may witness an increase in waterborne diseases, in addition to an increase in the number of COVID-19 cases.
The organization said that the only solution to avoid the water crisis is to provide the necessary energy to continue operating the water services.
Since October 2019, Lebanon has plunged into successive political and economic crises, leading to fuel shortages, increased hours of electricity cuts, and the depreciation of the Lebanese currency by more than 90%, which greatly affected basic commodities such as bread and medicine.
